No matter the dissenting opinions, we are Americans under the same sky – J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez
America is experiencing pivotal events in our history. Whether you lean to the left or right side of the political spectrum, we must learn to work together.
The division in America is widening each day.
If you check most types of media outlets nowadays, the narrative is similar – “us against them.” This is happening at an accelerated rate, and it needs to stop, because we are eroding America from the inside out. And if this happens, we have to ask ourselves: Who wins if America fails? The answer is simple, those who benefit if America fails.
And who is this cabal of anti-Americans? You might or might not be surprised to learn that this group of people span the entire world, and yes – some are even inside our own borders – and they were born in America. This later one is more nuisance, because even though they are American themselves, and might be operating under the impression that they are on America’s side – they are destroying the very fabric of the country at an accelerated rate.
It is sad but true that it is very easy to highjack the intrinsic goodness of people, and turn it against them. Worst of all, some of those who had their best intentions highjacked can very well be convinced they are fighting the good fight. This is happening around the world. Some have already destroyed the fabric of their own countries, bamboozled under a faux outrage that misdirected their candor and ire against their best interests.
Are we next? I would not quite say “next” – because that is very much happening right now in real time. But before we explore this phenomenon, let’s talk a bit about this cabal of those who want to destroy America… or at the very least bump America off the number one spot as a world-leader. Is it too bad being number two? It is worse than most people would imagine. And that is why this process of bumping the USA off the world stage has been executed for such a long time, and for many has been mostly unnoticed. Afterall, if you’re number one, your place is forever secured right? No, wrong. But those who have something to win from that delusion will surely make you think that is the case.
American Exceptionalism – not always a welcome concept…
It is not unusual for Americans to call the United States “the BEST country in the world.” How do you think people in other countries, even the ones we like us view and perceive that statement, and sentiment? If your guess is that they feel super happy for the USA and they are super stoked about it, then you’re delusional. The reality is that most people around the world, though they would agree that the USA is a world-leader, in fact resent the fact that Americans call themselves the best of the best in the world stage.
American exceptionalism is called by many other countries “American Arrogance” – and either if you agree or disagree with that narrative, that’s the opinion of a non-insignificant number of people around the world. And if you’re an American, this might make you angry, or make you feel bad, sad, or perhaps even combative about their perception. “How dare these many millions of people around the world not agree that the USA is the best nation in the world!” And to be fair, America is indeed a leader in many, many facets. Not all good, not all bad.
For example, from some of the not so good, we are number one in gun violence. We are also number one in the most expensive health care system on the planet. Oh, and we are also number one on incarcerating people. Yet when it comes to education, we are nowhere near number one, when it comes to wealth gaps we are also pretty far behind. And don’t get me wrong, the USA is a wonderful place, unlike no other. But you see, I also have a very different vantage point than most of the world.
For instance, I’ve lived in the USA most of my life, and I’ve served in uniform north of 20 years. Also, both my wife and daughter were born in the USA, and I have been afforded levels of trust by America that is only limited to very few people alive. My love for the United States of America is beyond what anybody could quantify or even imagine. It is vaster than the expanses of the known universe. And that is why I have no problem speaking truth to power.
What makes the United States of America truly the most amazing place in the world is the AMERICAN PEOPLE – we have the most diverse demographics in the world. There is representation of every corner of the planet who are American Citizens, and Permanent Residents. But not only that, we also have people from all over the world who come and serve in our Armed Forces, in our agencies, and many other segments of our nation, expanding our scope of knowledge and understanding of what is needed to make us better each day. This diversity is inconvenient to those who want to destroy America as we know it.
Is there room for improvement? Of course there is! Even the fanciest smart phone, which already does more mind-bending taskings that we ever imagined possible just a few short years ago has room for improvement. We cannot live from past wins alone; this is a continuous journey. Change is inevitable, otherwise it creates stagnation. Following the cell phone example. What if we had just settled for flip phones in the early 2000’s? And if you’re old to remember those days, having a cool flip phone back then was a huge deal. Today, if you can find those, it might as well be in a museum of obsolete technology.
That is what diversity brings, new ideas – new concepts – new innovations – additional points of view. Some that will be welcome at first sight, some might be more challenging, if they seem to be disrupting the status quo. Continue with the phones example, back in the day we used to have rotary phones… you know those with the big wheel with numbers you had to spin to dial. Imagine for a second if we had kept those rotary phones and by doing so negate ourselves the possibilities to innovate to the technological advances we have today when it comes to telecommunications.
Some of the more cynical readers might think that I went on a tangent. Starting from American exceptionalism to rotary phones. Well, there is a reason why I frame it in such a way. The minds of people are getting highjacked to become one-dimensional. My writing style is meant to rebuild that abstract part of thinking in order for us to understand the bigger picture and stop being bamboozled. I have to be a bit more on-the-nose nowadays, because sadly we are running out of time. The adversary is winning, and we are losing ground.
So, let’s bring this back together to the American Exceptionalism. There are regimes who are diligently capitalizing on the resentment people around the world have been brewing against the USA for several decades. Meanwhile, they are positioning themselves as a better alternative to the USA. If the USA – by its own hand destroys itself, they win by default. It is even more insidious than that. They will try to get the USA to join the “bad regimes” club, and create a division so massive inside our own borders that it will implode, and win by default. Either way, they would win.
Sadly, I can only oversimplify on this article, because the entire premise alone is enough to write an entire book. We don’t have time to go through all that. But fortunately, I’ve written and released two books that help that effort. And also, I’ve written a myriad of long-form articles that deal with this exact theme. I wrote all this because I saw it coming, I’ve warned a lot of people – some took heed, many have no idea what is coming their way.
These books are nonfiction historical assessments that help defeat authoritarian propaganda.
In my series “Today in America” I add important turning points in our American History, and how this is playing a pivotal role in how we are been bamboozled into fighting one another, and for the rest of those who are unaware – to remain unaware, thus giving card blanche to an adversarial regime to take over their lives, as the unsuspected American segment of willfully ignorant people have given tacit consent to others to dictate their lives without as much as a semblance of awareness.
Are many Americans arrogant? You can bet your full paycheck that many are, and that is the impression many around the world see of this otherwise great nation. There is a lot of merit for why the USA has become the de facto world-leader, but that does not mean that other countries do not feel that that situation rubs them the wrong way. And before you think “well F-em” – think again, because – first that shows that you are indeed arrogant, and foolish. People around the world have choices, even if they owe something to America. Much like if you have a mortgage with a bank, and there is another bank that offers you a better rate – you might refinance. In the strategic level of geopolitics, it is very similar.
Being a world leader.
You’ve probably heard the term “it is lonely on the top” – and indeed it can be if a person burned bridges and used others as stepping stones to reach to the top. Politics, for better or for worse, have a huge role to play in the way we are perceived around the world. Every time people in congress throw verbal feces at each other, somebody in a country who dislikes the USA uses that as a propaganda point to show that “the US system of government is flawed.” That is a phenomenal gift on a golden platter to an authoritarian regime.
No matter if you are an American or not, rip the proverbial bandage right now, the USA has a lot of room for improvement, but it is right now (at the time I write this article) remains the best alternative for a myriad of reasons. For better or worse, whatever happens in the USA will be followed by countries around the world as an acceptable status quo. If you are not from the United States, you might or might not like the USA – but regardless the USA remains a world leader in many respects that are beneficial to the entire world.
Has the system been abused by a few unscrupulous and opportunistic entities? Absolutely yes. Can it be fixed? Yes! But it is not an automatic process. What makes the USA the USA is the PEOPLE! And people need to have a full grasp and understanding of what is affecting them. Especially the “boring and scary” parts that are usually left unattended. I can ask many Americans right now about what is most important in the current news cycle. Many will concede (and indeed when I asked them) that they “don’t follow the news” – but they can tell you the entire gamma of TV shows, movies, games, video games, and other entertainment with superlative detail. That especially in 2024 – which perhaps is the most influential election year in our lifetimes is not a good trend.
With that said, MOST people in the USA are actually wonderful and caring people, no matter where you are. Is there rampant misinformation that has been dividing us? Yes, again – and that is what I am trying to change through my writing. But I have to admit that this is not an easy task. There is no shortage of people who are “talking” about what is going on – but I don’t see much “doing” about it. This part of me “doing something” – but there is a lot more that I do, and that is engaging with any group of people I can interact with. Especially if they have a point of view that has been highjacked by propaganda.
I’m happy to report that some people with whom we had conversations, eventually had an epiphany. They did not agree with me at first – but I like to plant seeds that will be tumbling on a person’s mind for a while. They eventually will find the correct answer. Why? Because facts don’t care about our feelings, the truth comes to light at some point. It does not matter how hard we try to hide from it. The problem is that the truth is not always as palatable as propaganda. Propaganda is easily digestible; the truth can be a hard pill to swallow. Especially if we were enamored with the incorrect narrative.
You’ve probably heard also this phrase: “The chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” The propagandists and regimes who are hellbent in destroying America are preying on those weakest links. The trick is that they will make them believe they are the strongest links in the proverbial chain. It is very easy to do so in fact. People (in particular) with some unapologetic on-your-face alpha personalities can be very susceptible to running errands for an authoritarian. Sorry, that’s what normally happens. But non-alphas also have vulnerabilities that can be quite exploitable. It takes different levels manipulation to target each segment. This can result in the “us against them” reality I was speaking of at the top of this article.
And to bring it full circle – being a leading nation is not a matter of having only “a few good people who are good and well informed” does not help the collective from being a premiere nation. For example, in countries where information is curtailed and controlled by the regime, there is no diversity, nor tolerance for different points of view – the perception of reality gets skewed to the point that the population has no recourse but to stagnate. They will instead be waiting for whatever is being fed to them as far as thinking (and sometimes literally for sustainment).
Conversely, when there is a diversity of points of view, there will be more checks and balances. That does not mean that you have to “agree” with every different point of view. Some of those points of view (even your own) could very well be divorced from reality. But even on those events, that is not an entirely negative situation, because you can also understand where there could be cognitive traps (cognitive dissidence). Having people smart enough to realize that there are blind spots is a good place to start when searching for facts.
But I’ve said it before, and I will say it again – there is a sizable number of people who confuse facts with opinions. A fact is logical, measurable, and demonstrable. An opinion can very well be simple conjecture and divorced from reality. The latter is of course very convenient for propagandists who want to implant a “plausible” version of events – even if when put in context it would not be plausible at all. But of course, that is why those unsuspected people won’t be afforded the full context. It is designed to be that way.
Although this situation certainly happens in the USA, we are far from being the only country in the world suffering from the same situation. Tragically, due to the fact that the United States is such an important and influential country (like it or not), the collective dissidence affects the entire world (again like it or not). And even if there are other countries around the world looking in awe, horror, or contempt that the USA is struggling – it also negatively affects THEM sooner or later.
Leadership is a privilege, not a right. However, in places where they can still elect their leaders – the rules have been tilted in some superficially innocuous directions. But the truth is a lot darker; political influence is not a single-country issue. There are regimes who realize that the more global their influence, the more they can get away with other nefarious agendas. Agendas that most definitely affect their own countries, but it also tilts the game at a much deeper level. That is where things get a lot more complex – because it becomes abstract, and it is hidden in plain sight.
While the majority of people are busy living their own lives, the direction for which their road is being skewed happens beneath their own noses. The changes are gradual – and as they continue in their life journey – however long it takes, the destination was already predetermined for millions of people. That is why understanding history in proper context is so important. I’ve said it a million times, and I will continue saying it – propaganda is meant to be palatable, and easily understood. Of course, it is because it becomes the vehicle for subliminal marching orders – and these orders can very well be against the obedient person’s best interests.
So, if you’re an American – like it or not – what you do adds to the collective effort for the rest of the planet. No pressure. But that should not be a bad thing. In fact, when we conduct ourselves in a good way that is meant to help each other out, the benefits are returned with high returns. And no, I am not asking about donating, or giving stuff away for free. But for example, if you have friends who own a restaurant, or that they provide a service, recommending their services or using those services yourself already contributes to the betterment of our society.
The problem is that most people now seem like a walking price tag. And often asked to pay more than they can afford – especially if they are in the lower parts of the economic scale. When Americans can’t work together, what is the message the rest of the world sees? They would assert something along the lines “if the USA is no longer a world leader, then it is time for a different country (even their own) to be that leader.” This can be very beneficial or polarizing to the world stage – but remember that at this time in history, where there is great power competition, there are some regimes that are far ahead of the curve. And letting the USA out to dry (like it or not) is not the best answer.
But when it comes to a person put in charge, it does not mean that person is an actual leader. There is a huge difference between the two. And when we compound the millions of people collective in that country, and there are few awesome people and a bunch of non-awesome people, what is the average for the country? Does that affect the collective average – you bet it does. Why? Because like it or not a majority of people can affect change for better or worse. A population who is subpar in the manner they consume and understand information will be a lot worse off than a population who is above average in the proper understanding of the information they consume. Why? Because they will be able to understand if the information provided to them is accurate or if it is flawed. In other words, they will understand the proper context.
Dummying down our world’s population.
This has been occurring at an accelerated rate, and in many ways, it is a world-wide phenomenon. There is a reason why things that are more “fun” and “entertaining” are palatable and spread like wild fire. They are designed to capture our interest and to teach us something in a very easy manner – often time to try to sell us something, or make us loyal to their brand. But something similar also happens with propaganda.
Bottom line, the dumber a person is, the easier they are to manipulate. Make this dumb person believe they are the smartest person in the room, and they will be kissing the rear end of whomever is making them feel so good – and accepted! No matter how crazy the narrative might be, people want to belong – and propaganda makes it easier to create these bubbles that place people in a “community of like-minded folks” – while separating us from those who “seem to be” against us.
The reality is that we are more similar than different. And that is very inconvenient to whomever wants to manipulate us. In fact, that is another reason why they make their enticement so palatable and easily to assimilate. They have realized that the savvier a person is, the less likely they are to ingest falsehoods, and the less likely they are to take something at face value without doing its due diligence.
Let me give you a quick example. Let’s pretend for a moment you’re about to spend a pretty penny on a big-ticket item. Maybe a huge TV, or a new central air conditioning Unit, a vehicle, a new roof, an expensive musical instrument, or whatever that would cost a small fortune. In those instances, people will tend to do a lot of research on the brand, the reviews (good and especially bad), and ask around, and find out if the item they are about to purchase or the company they will be dealing with is reputable, etc. Those who fail to do so might go one of two ways.
1. They could get lucky and everything works fine.
2. They will find out that there was some merit in doing some research because now they are stuck with a bad investment.
Whatever the case, there was more to the story. In the first instance, yes – sometimes we get lucky buying something on a whim and it turns out to be great. But that is not always the case. In some instances, what we think was good turned out to be a swindle. Especially if the situation was too good to be true. In fact, that is part of the marketing process – making it as palatable and enticing as possible for the consumer. Hopefully, that will include good quality control if they are interested in the customer for coming for more. Some other times it might be just enough to make a quick buck and for the swindler to disappear into the shadows.
When it comes to propaganda, the swindlers are going to give them nice little samples, but they are not ready for the big reveal. Much like getting a buffet dinner in a time-share sale. Sure, they are feeding you something, but the payout they are looking for is a lot bigger than what they are offering to get you through the door, and to keep you there – until you stay long enough to listen, and perhaps being enticed to sign up.
Well, the dummying down of the population is similar, but a lot more complex in scale and execution. Why? Because the payout is enormous. Some people are more prone to take some false narratives at face value – if their biases have prompted them to blindly follow a person that they find enticing. Make no mistake, those of us who want the best for you are going to ask you to look beyond your bubble and question everything – even what WE are telling you. Why? Because we want you to expand your mind.
People who want to control you or keep you dumb will make things “too easy” for you. This might seem convenient to you at first, but the fact is that they are re-training your mind towards blind obedience. Through my writing I am trying to change that trend. But it is a team effort. Thank you for spending this time with me! HLC
HLC Splitting challenges – www.halflifecrisis.com – Understanding History
I make it very clear every time I get a platform to speak about this; I am concerned to see America getting divided and more eroded from the inside out.
The adversary wants a divided America.
Where can I even start? 2023 is nearing its end by being one of the most bizarre years in American History. This is supposed to be a feel-good article – but there are realities we need to address. Why? Because I love America, that is why. Yet this weirdness is not very evident to great swaths of Americans – and many other world citizens. Yet, in a curious twist this madness is designed to be that way.
Yes, it is largely meant to be that way. Let’s start with the greatest catalyst – our political challenge and its congruent widespread apathy. Not necessarily by politicians – but by a large segment of people who are not at all interested in the political realities. I don’t blame them; politics can range from boring to exasperating. Neither of those extremes make it any more palatable. And yes, it is designed to be that way. Because that way a lot of decisions enacted by politicians happen unnoticed while in plain sight. Bizarre!
If you have been a reader of mine for a while, then you know I love to throw a couple of pop quizzes here and there. Don’t worry, there is no letter grade required on these questions I pose. But the correct answer to the crazy stuff I ask is still important. And the reason is because what I ask directly affects our lives – collectively. To be honest, sometimes I wish I could just look away and let things happen without a second glance. And once in a while I do – for a little bit. For sanity’s sake.
But the problem is that by letting things happen without our situational awareness, we tend to miss important indicators. For example, although there is plenty of political theater going on in Capitol Hill right now, there is also no shortage of the correspondent aftermath that affects our very lives. These could be in the form of taxes, changes to entitlement programs, legislation that messes up with our way of life, etc. Some laws pass without an audience understanding how different their lives are about to become.
Further, some of the politicians have staff who seem very incompetent. And I mean this is glaringly evident by the number of gaffes that occur on a regular basis when elected officials are questioning people during many hearings. It would be tragically amusing if it was not so disturbing. Some of these staffers should probably pay more attention to the facts before their Representative or Senator spews information that is totally divorced from reality. Unless that is the intent. I am hoping it is incompetence – but I would not hold my breath on that possibility – if this benefit of the doubt was supposed to be a bet.
Political Theater in Capitol Hill.
So, let’s do a quick pop quiz to my American Citizen readers. How many U.S. House of Representatives and US Senators can you name? From those, what are their platforms? And what do you like or dislike about each? How many can you name? 10, 15, more? If you did, that would be awesome! There are 100 U.S. Senators and there are 435 members in the U.S. House of Representatives. I bet you most people only recall some of those names who seem to be appearing in the news a lot. And quite a few of these politicians do appear (or are cited) repeatedly, although not usually for good reasons.
Yet these representatives do vote on legislation that affects our entire country. It is true that some have not introduced actual legislation to the floor, and also a significant number of these politicians seem to be divorced from reality. That does happen quite a lot – unfortunately. Let’s talk about a few to see if you are familiar with them. You’re welcome to like them or dislike them – that is not the intent for today’s article. But what I want to do is point out how likely we are to hear some clout in a very small number of politicians while many others are largely unknown to the majority of the country. Yet their voting record can be less than stellar, and hidden from view – in plain sight.
I’ll just mention the names, I won’t go into if they are either good or bad. But if you recognize the names, just think about – why do you like them, or why do you very much dislike them? In order for this exercise to make sense, your opinion over them cannot simply be because of what your favorite news outlet or pundit tells you, but rather on the understanding of their actual platform and voting record. That official participation is what really speaks for them. That voting record is what really counts regardless of what anybody says on TV or any other media outlet (to include independent outlets).
The following U.S. House Representatives are listed in no order in particular: Alexandra Ocasio Cortez (AOC), George Santos, Kevin McCarthy, Lauren Boebert, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, Matt Gaetz, Majorie Greene, James Comer, Steve Scalise, Jamie Raskin, Omar Ilhan, Antony D’Esposito, Tim Burchett, Jim Jordan. How do you feel about each of those mentioned?
The following U.S. Senators are listed in no order in particular: Corey Booker, Bill Cassidi, Susan Collins, Christopher Coons, Tom Cotton, John Fetterman, Lindsey
Graham, Chuck Grasley, Tim Kaine, Robert Mendez, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio, Charles Schumer, Tommy Tuberville, Elizabeth Warren, Rick Scott, Berny Sanders. How do you feel about each of the Senators I mentioned?
Please don’t feel bad if you cannot recognize them all. That is true for the short lists that I put in the paragraphs above or the full lists linked to this article. Unless the ones you cannot recognize are your own state senators and district house of representatives – then yeah, you probably should have known who they are. Why? Well, for example when people become Naturalized U.S. Citizens they take an oral civics test, and THIS question is asked. And yes, you’re required to answer correctly. I know I was asked this very question (among others) when I became a Naturalized U.S. Citizen. And understanding civics does make sense when becoming a citizen. I am sure you would agree to that. Should not natural born citizens be held to the same standard? We are all Americans after all.
I am sure most of my readers actually know the correct answer to this question I just asked (who is your House Representative and State Senators?). But unfortunately, that is not true for everybody else. In fact, just in the last couple of days I did my own unscientific poll asking random people about this very question – this included natural born U.S. citizens and Naturalized citizens. Which group do you think was most likely to answer these questions correctly? Why you think is that? (The answer was the Naturalized Citizens group by the way).
This priming question also helped many (not all) understand some of the intricacies about how legislation moves through Congress, and what is the relationship between the Legislative power in contrast and conjunction with the Judicial and Executive powers. Once we understand how the system works, then it is a lot easier to understand if a Senator or Representative is actually working for the good of their constituents (and by extension the country), or are they just occupying a seat in that exulted position but only fanning the flames of political theater.
Why do you think I picked up all those names and listed them in random order? Notice that I did not put their political affiliation (either Republican, Democrat, or Independent). Well, for two reasons:
First. Because chances are that you might recognize some of those names – because they do appear in the news a lot, and some were even presidential hopefuls, or held a very high ranking or influential role in Congress. Some are very good people; some others are awful – I won’t go on to say which one is what. A quick google search can give you plenty of information (good or bad) about each. Depending on what outlet you choose your information from. This is of course an invitation to spark your curiosity about each politician I listed. And of course, on hearing favoring and dissenting views on each of these political figures.
Second. Because they have been the catalyst to either moving or stalling important legislation, and the have been covered in the mainstream media quite a lot in the political discourse during important turning points in recent American history (when it comes to politics – for better or worse). Yes, those listed have different political affiliations. And many of them are not good at playing as a team. Further, some will be very incendiary in their remarks and partisanship – and quite a few of them are somehow involved in at least one major scandal.
By the way, I do plan on writing about the historical bipartisan vote to expel George Santos from Congress today. I’ve written about him before, and the inevitable happened today. Please come visit us again this weekend for that conversation.
Also, in separate articles I will delve into each of them as they are individually and collectively relevant. It won’t be in this article because otherwise this will turn into a book. There is plenty to talk about and some of that talk will be pretty intricate. Instead, my intent with this article is to spark your curiosity. True that some of these politicians are featured in the airways very often – but are their words in front of the camera actually matching their voting record and their actual service to the American people – or are they falling short on that commitment?
What I can tell you, and it is demonstrable, is that many of those I listed had repeated adversarial [to the US] nation propagandistic talking points verbatim. And this parroting of adversarial talking points might be unintentional, that does not make it any less stupid. This legitimization of adversarial talking points both bolsters adversarial nation’s influence and alienates the U.S. from actual allied nations. Does that sound hyperbolic? It should not… let me explain you why.
When adversarial nations show that the “Shining City on the Hill” is not only imperfect, but it is actually being portrayed as unhinged – this gives the adversarial nations ammunition to validate [even if falsely] that THEIR regime governing system is the way to go, as though the U.S. was too flawed to be a viable model in the world stage. Every time our elected representatives throw feces at each other, adversarial regimes rejoice. We are making it a lot easier for them to discredit the U.S. by our own mouths.
For the rest of the world, particularly countries who are not necessarily an adversary to the U.S. – but rather they might or might not have undivided loyalty towards the great U.S. of A. – seeing the US lose ground in the world stage will make an impression to them as though there is a “more viable” option. In other words, start leaning towards other nations who are not the US or US allies! These nations who are on the fence can very well choose to go for another “world leader” – who does not seem to be in disarray. Understanding that I am not talking about world politicians moving their fondness away from the USA – I am talking about everyday citizens of the world who might start seeing the USA influence as a lesser choice.
American influence in the world stage.
Not everybody out there is very savvy on global geopolitical intricacies. And why should they? – It is a very large world out there. Mathematically the task is daunting at best. But if a country at any point in history is the #1 most influential nation, then it does not matter who is #2, #3, or #47 for that matter… The #1 nation for better or worse will set a certain status-quo (like it or not) that normalizes what is or is not acceptable in the world stage. And with this I know that a lot of people around the world does take exception with the assessment of touting the U.S. as the #1 nation in the world. Actually, that statement alone makes a lot of people cringe (mostly outside the USA).
And that is a whole topic in its own right. I know many Americans will not necessarily like to hear that there is not unmitigated positive perception about them outside our borders. And yes, some of that perception is not a fair assessment. But as I said this is a very sensitive and actually quite complex issue – therefore it deserves its own dedicated article (at the very least). What we will discuss is quite eye-opening no matter how you feel about it.
However, setting a positive standard for USA is that among other beneficial things; the fact that the federal government is not going to kill you and everything you loved if you speak against the government – that is not something every nation in the planet enjoys unequivocally. Also, the peaceful transfer of power. That latter did not happen in 2020 – For the first time in U.S. history we did not transfer power peacefully. That was wonderful news to the adversarial nations – the world takes notice of that. I bet you there are plenty of Americans who are unaware of the nefarious January 6, 2021 insurrection in Capitol Hill. Or at least some people don’t quite understand the significance of that day. I know that for a fact, because I like to ask these kinds of things. And some of the answers can be quite frustrating.
Also, gaining the title of who is the #1 nation in the world is actually a lot more subjective than most people can imagine. And that perception is quite exploitable by propagandists. So, let’s put some #1 place when it comes to the U.S. in order to spell-out what does it mean. Some are good, some are not so good (as in not good at all).
Some of the USA #1 categories – Largest Economy in terms of gross domestic product
– Largest Military force by far
– Most mass shootings by far (tragically)
– Most diverse country in terms of ethnicity, culture, art, etc. Because the U.S. Population (to include American Citizens and Permanent Residents) do span the entire planet.
– Largest Oil, Natural Gas & Coal reserves.
– Largest Beef production
And I can go on… but I must also mention we are pretty far behind on other areas such as: Access to medical care (not the same as how good the doctors are in USA; it does not do a sick person much good if the doctor is excellent but prohibitively unaffordable), pragmatic equity, our wealth gap is gigantic. While some people can barely make a living, 1% of the country has more wealth than the rest of the 99% combined. And no, I am not asking for wealth redistribution in this article – I am just stating a fact. The amount the private wealth of a small percentage of the U.S. population is mind-bending. Moving on, our education system is not necessarily the best – it depends largely on several factors. Also, the higher the education level, the more exponentially expensive it gets.
Also, our manufacturing is very far behind on the world stage and incredibly expensive. If you have a “Made in America” product – you are going to have to pay pretty-penny for it 9 times out of 10. And of course, that creates a vicious circle of trying to get products from other places – because they are a lot more affordable. But in the end, it destroys the sustainability of a viable long-term economic model for the USA. It makes it harder to compete with the rest of the world in manufacturing. There are many American companies who found it cheaper to produce stuff overseas and ship it to the USA for sale.
And of course, a lot of the distribution channels will need to make some compromises on the quality of the products given to consumers. Let me give you an example, a lot of the produce (fruits and vegetables) we consume are not all that tasty. Why? Because it needs to be strong enough to survive the gigantic distances it needs to cover in order to be available nationwide – ensuring it won’t turn into mush will also kill a lot of the flavor. A lot of our food does have a lot of “help” to not go bad in transit (preservatives and particularly bio-engineered to sustain that arduous process). In smaller countries – for example Italy, a regular tomato will have a much different taste (as in amazing) than a regular tomato in USA. But the same delicious tomato would not survive the trip from origin to your plate.
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Quick author sidebar: Shoutout to Italy – another country I love so much. I know that for a fact that Italy is a country like no other, I spent four glorious years living in Italy – and I left kicking and screaming among when it was my time to leave. Among other things because the food in Italy is beyond wonderful. If you haven’t gotten a chance to visit Italy, you’re missing out. Save up some money and bring a big wallet because the experiences you’ll enjoy are unforgettable. I’ve been from the southern-most point in Sicily to the northern regions in the country, the coasts, and everywhere in between – every place is unique and indescribable. I will be writing a lot about Italy in future articles. Meanwhile you can see some awesome shots in my Instagram from my last visits to Italy.
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US Capitol view from the National Mall in Washington. Photo by J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez – Half Life Crisis
The good in USA.
But back to the USA. USA is my home, I am an American Citizen, I dress in the cloth of this nation and have been serving on active duty in the United States Navy for 20 years. My love for the great USA is beyond what words can describe, and I am chatty A.F. but even then, I am at a loss for words when it comes to speaking about what the USA means to me.
And for that I will have to dedicate an entire book – seriously. My mother brought me to the USA in 1995 and this country not only opened her arms to me, but adopted me as one of their own. This is my home, my Wife and Daughter are both American-born, I’ve lived here more than two thirds of my entire life. I’ve visited the world, but my adopted country is my home.
I’ve been to 47 out of 50 states in the USA, and several U.S. Territories around the world. And the common denominator of what makes the USA wonderful is their people. Sadly, some people (fortunately very few in the great scheme of things) are advocating for dividing our population in an “us against them” manner. That is why I am so adamant about trying to write content that will help us come together.
Unfortunately, chaos and bad news and sensationalism is what drives the clicks and the attention. I am lucky that I was able to create Half Life Crisis as a means to express my mind in an unfiltered manner. At this exact point in time, I am not as worried about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Marketing, or other stuff that would be just looking after monetizing what I do. To me it is about the message. I created Half Life Crisis so I could rant… a lot… about things I feel are meaningful and that deserve having a platform. And these will be immortalized without fear of being censored by any outside special interests group ruling Half Life Crisis – because it is really only me typing and editing all this stuff you see presented in my articles.
I do intend to include and feature more stories that hopefully will be inspiring to our readers. I don’t want to type sensationalistic content just to search for clicks, although I do want my words to travel as far as possible – because my message is meant to bring us together. But in lieu of sensationalistic topics I want to continue writing content that is thought provoking. I appreciate all my readers as I look at the analytics of my site to see that they are enjoying this type of narrative and they are hanging out long enough to read these words.
To all my readers, I want to thank you again because I don’t take for granted any visit to my site. I have already been gratefully surprised at how far this little platform has been growing. True that I have not gotten the bandwidth nor the savviness to make it a mega project. Not yet anyway – but as I say on my site’s front page. I am playing this whole thing by ear and you might be as surprised as I am at how far I might be able to take this project. And my intention is to do so by staying true to my principles. Even if it takes a little bit (or a lot) longer.
There is plenty we need to address in our beloved USA. We cannot bask in old successes and think that is enough to keep this good thing going. It takes the attention to detail to the generation who will be in the driver’s seat to maintain and make it better for everybody.
For these days I am trying to focus more on positivity, because the truth is that the world is actually a scary place and it is getting scarier. But sulking in a corner sucking our thumb is not going to fix the situation, what can fix it is the people – and for that it takes individual introspection to understand what needs to be addressed. But talking too much about negativity brings people down, and defeats the will to fight, especially if the fight seems distant from the battle space.
The first step is introspection, and by this, I mean it is important to understand what is being fed to us by elected leaders. What is true, what is noise? And there is plenty of noise and conjecture taking over facts. That is dangerous, because things can and will get worse – unless – we the people decide to be part of the collective solution. And it is as simple as understanding what this noise is being propagated onto us, and to separate facts from falsehoods.
In order to achieve this goal, what it takes is bringing our natural curiosity and comparing the facts with the reality. For politicians, looking at their voting record in the links I gave you is a pretty good start. Start with your incumbent Senators and representatives. I promise you it will be time well invested, even if it is an acquired taste. But those are the people who are making decisions on our behalf and some of them don’t have any business being in those exulted positions. Good news, elections are coming near!
As always, I want to thank you for spending this time with me. I don’t take for granted the fact you chose to read my words. I would love to hear from you, we can always continue this conversation in the comment section on this page – or in any of our social media platforms. Thank you for being with me through this journey! HLC
When it comes to talking about what BeeZee Vision means to me, there are a lot of emotions pulling in all directions. Most of them are positive of course. It is even borderline endearing to see my title as Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of my little company. The only negative would be the fact that in the last 10 years I physically haven’t got enough time to dedicate to the company. This is about to change because my retirement from Active Duty after 20 years of serving in the U.S. Navy is getting near. Yet BeeZee Vision, LLC™ has also been waiting for me at the end of the pier to return along with my two girls (my wife Alicia and daughter Samantha).
The original concept for BeeZee Vision came when I was stationed onboard USS LAKE ERIE CG-70 when the ship was homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I know, right? Yes, it was indeed a pretty awesome place to be assigned to. LAKE ERIE was my second ship, the first one, USS SEATTLE AOE-3 decommissioned shortly after we finished her last deployment, so I was only onboard SEATTLE for about one year.
But even by the time I checked onboard USS LAKE ERIE, the U.S. Navy was still a relatively new adventure for me. Hawaii was definitely a new place. I had never been to this paradise before, imagine my emotion knowing that this was going to be my home for the next three years! Pearl Harbor is on the island of Oahu which is better known to tourists for the cities of Honolulu, and Waikiki. I enjoyed my time in Hawaii, but there was always something missing. Me… from the past.
What do I mean by that? Well, I have always had an inclination for the arts in all its forms. Most importantly I have always preferred to express myself through art. Suddenly after joining the U.S. Navy, I was very limited to express myself through art. Also, things were very different as far as what was available back in 2005 when it came to content creation.
In fact, the small laptop computer I had back then would be considered pretty much a “dinosaur” on today’s standards when it came to actually creative software. It was not a particularly fast or even pretty computer, but at the time it was all I had, and I created a lot of high-end graphic design projects with it. For instance, I designed and completed the entire Cruise Book and Decommissioning book for USS SEATTLE, both of which are part of the Navy archives. And yes, I also shot (captured with my old digital camera) a lot of those images featured in the book.
But this old laptop was all I could carry with me. Afterall, there is not that much room in the ship. And let me tell you that my old laptop was literally falling apart with all the wear and tear. For instance, the hinges connecting the keyboard to the screen were so eroded that even opening and closing the computer needed quite the amount of finesse. It is actually interesting that the computer survived a few falls onto the non-skid. That is the very rough hard surface on top of the U.S. Navy ship weather decks. Yeah, that stuff would tear you up. Yet, the little computer survived that and a lot more abuse.
Every once in a while, I have a chance to do some artistic project in my installed version of Adobe Photoshop. That is my all-time favorite software. However, I am a videographer at heart – and back there I no longer had the chance to do professional videography. That kind of bummed me out, because there was so much beauty around me, but I no longer had any equipment to capture it. But the days kept on moving, it was always busy… so I would just kind of let life run its course. And it moved fast!
Then one day as life finally slowed down (for a little while), and I had some time to “remember who I am” – I had this epiphany. I vowed to myself that one day I was going to be the founder of a company. And my company would intend to create and showcase art in any form available. In fact, I wanted to make it a “hub” for many artists to be able to showcase their talent.
Perhaps selfishly, I also wanted to give myself a vehicle to showcase my own art under a banner that was my very own. This was not an overnight thing; it even took me a while to come up with the name. I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to do, but the ship’s schedule and the limitation both in software and availability were very hard to surmount. Yet I had a vision of what I wanted it to be. The vision still remains, but what I realize now is that I was way too far ahead of my time. The rest of the world needed to catch up to where I was envisioning. It was worth the wait.
Where does the name “BeeZee” come from?
My nickname in the U.S. Navy is “BeeZee” – and there is a story behind it. Soon after I checked onboard USS LAKE ERIE, my specialty (rating) was known back then as Personnelman Seaman. In other words, I was a junior Sailor working in the ship’s administrative office. I really loved being in that Ship, the crew was like a big family.
Because my last name “Baqueroalvarez” is unnecessarily long, people used to give me all kinds of nicknames. Many of which I did not care about, however endearing the intent, such as B-14 – I’m not a plane. But all that nickname frenzy changed one faithful day.
There was a big inspection going on involving the ship’s Engineering Department. I was assigned by my division’s leadership to assist as a “yeoman” (admin person) for this event. I was directed to go to the Wardroom (where officers congregate) and report to the Commanding Officer (CO), also known as the “Captain” – who at the time also happened to be an actual U.S. Navy Captain (CAPT). I went to the wardroom in a crisp uniform and did as I was directed by my divisional leadership.
I found the CO, I stood at attention, and with the best military bearing I could muster I said: “Good morning, Captain! PNSN Baqueroalvarez reporting for duty as directed, Sir.” He smiled very kindly and politely asked me “how do you say your name again?” – I replied “Baqueroalvarez, Sir.” With the same kind and engaging smile, he then said, “How about BeeZee?” I replied, “Yes Sir!” – he had done it, he found the one nickname that I actually liked, and almost two decades later it remains my nickname. Thank you to -at the Time, CAPT Joe Horne!
He subsequently retired as an Admiral. He has always been one of the leaders in the U.S. Navy that I have admired the most. I learned a lot from his leadership style, even as a junior Sailor. In either case he is the person who granted me my U.S. Navy nickname “BeeZee.”
So now you know where the name “BeeZee” came from. What some people might not know is that in nautical signal flags hoisting, different flags represent certain things. Some flags are letters, others are numbers, and others represent certain codes. But when you fly the flags “Bravo Zulu” it also means “well done.” This Bravo Zulu (BZ) is also passed over radio, or other communications as a term to convey congratulations, or the successful completion of an operation or a mission. I am sure you can see why I am so grateful to my former CO for giving me that nickname.
So, whenever you see the BeeZee Vision, LLC™ logo, the Bravo and Zulu nautical flags carry the symbolism from that faithful day, and how my nickname BeeZee came to be. Fast forward almost two decades later, this is the nickname I continue to embrace, and it has become part of my identity.
Eventually my trusty laptop computer that was with me before I joined the Navy kicked the bucket. Things went from bad to worse with the machine once the keyboard and the screen were literally separated. I remember when a Chief Warrant Officer was kind enough to tell me to “stop being so cheap” and get a new computer. Yeah, back then those laptops were very- very expensive. Even my little computer that was kicking the bucket and whose battery could not even hold charge, and that was begging me to put her out of her misery – yeah, even that was still pretty expensive. This was an old Dell laptop computer. I bought it a few months before I joined the Navy, and it was the best thing I could get at the time. My previous laptops had already become obsolete by that time.
And even though we did create a lot of artistic pieces in that little Dell laptop computer, it was relatively slow, and did not have that much storage space. But I did have photoshop, which I used extensively. But was otherwise very limited on what I could or could not do with it. This is well before the time USB ports came into existence. But regardless, the Warrant Officer was right, and I knew I had to upgrade sooner than later.
I saw somebody had a very fancy laptop with an extended numerical keyboard. I knew I had to have it, but boy was it expensive – this was a Hewlett Packard (HP) laptop. I remember this machine being over $2,000.00 in 2006’s money. I found a computer store, likely the Navy Exchange in Pearl Harbor, I don’t recall anymore – it might have been in another place. Does not matter, but I remember it felt super expensive, but worth it. And it did last me several years after I purchased it – and got quite a lot of mileage on it. By the way, that laptop also went kaput eventually – I think about 10 years of hard use or so. But a lot of good stuff was created with her as well.
But that is the very computer I used to type and design the original BeeZee Vision logo. It looked very different back then than what it does now. But it was a start. At the time it had a bit more of a corporate look, and to be honest I only had very little time to even think about the concept, it was something omnipresent, but sort of simultaneously in the background. So weird! Unsurprisingly, my duties and responsibilities were very hectic even back then.
Yet the concept always returned to the fact that I wanted to “create” art! The concept of “content creators” in the same way we know it today was not a thing back then. Technology was way behind, what we see today as content creation would have been a fantasy back then. This period pre-dates Facebook, and even the capabilities for digital photography were still a far cry from what we take for granted today. We were even very far from smart phones. And phones who happened to have a camera were only capable of taking photos with very, very low resolution.
In either case, digital photography and graphic design were the first things that I produced under the BeeZee Vision concept. Even though none of those were for commercial use at the time. I really created and captured images for fun, for favors, for work (contributed to the U.S. Navy), and because I could. But there was no signal for those products at the time, especially not in Hawaii – in the environment where I was living. Although people did like my graphic design prowess.
I remember when our deployment onboard LAKE ERIE started, our first port was in Yokosuka, Japan. I purchased the fanciest digital camera I could afford. This was a Fuji camera. I took a bunch of photographs. At some point I’ll post those online. And of course, I continued creating graphic design projects with my trusty version of Adobe Photoshop. A version so old by today standards that it would look “cute” – but it was phenomenal back then. By the way, Photoshop remains my favorite software because it allows me to bring to life what is in my imagination.
Fast forward to 2007, I was assigned for duty in Naples, Italy. Yeah! I lived just shy of four awesome years in Italy. Loved it, I came back kicking and screaming, Italy was wonderful, and having U.S. military presence, it was like living the American Dream but in Italian. And also, during that time BeeZee Vision, although still a concept in my head, remained what it was while I was in Hawaii.
Essentially, I would take a lot of photographs and I would do graphic design under the same premise as before. Still, since BeeZee Vision was not a company I was not doing this as a business, but rather just for fun and because I could. Yes, still. But I was not worried about it. Afterall, being stationed in Naples did afford me the opportunity to travel all over Europe; and Alicia also moved in with me, and eventually we got married and she got pregnant with our daughter Samantha a few months before we departed Italy. We lived together in Italy for three years.
Samantha was born in 2011 in Virginia soon after we returned from living in Italy, and as expected life was still incredibly busy. You know, come to think about it, for the last 20-some years my catch phrase might as well have been “I’m busy” – because I was. In fact, some of my co-workers used to use the pseudo-pun “BeeZee are you busy?” I know, right? But it was true, it was insanely busy the entire time. During this entire time, I was living a wonderful chapter in my life. I was a new dad, I had just changed my specialty from administration to intelligence, and everything once again was very new for me. There was no time for art, BeeZee Vision had to take the back seat as life happened.
When I returned to Virginia it was the same as Hawaii and Italy. Whenever I had a chance, I would take a bunch of photos, and I would do something pertaining to graphic design. But mostly it was really for fun, and often either as a favor, or because “I could.” So, I did. You can see a pattern huh? Yet at some point I would come full circle and crave to create art and do more with BeeZee Vision. Unsurprisingly, there was just not enough time. I was always extremely busy, even back then. Dang, this military service is indeed very time-hungry, and any down time I could afford I would dedicate it to my wife and daughter. And my time with them was ever so limited.
And even at this time, years after – content creation in the way we are accustomed to seeing it nowadays was still several years away from being the reality we see today. I knew what I wanted to do, I just literally did not have the time (yes, I know I am saying this over and over again. Sadly, because it is true).
As 2012 was rolling around, BeeZee Vision being relegated to the back seat was making me feel uneasy. I wanted to turn this concept into an actual company. The only problem, the process seemed unsurmountable, especially as my duties with the Navy were still pretty hectic – as usual. I did put my duties as a priority because that is our commitment as military members. But I figured that I wanted to have something that was my own growing progressively for the sake of my daughter, and even if it would take a long time, at the very least this company would have enough time to grow at its own pace. Even if the growth was supposed to be lethargic.
Was I apprehensive about it? You bet! There were so many unknowns, and now being a permanent resident in Virginia, I had a lot of other hurdles that I needed to figure out just to start a company, let alone have the capital to get it off the ground. For some time, I was also putting it out because I did not know if I was going to stay in Virginia, and then moving a company across state lines seemed a lot more complex than what I could handle.
And more importantly, what was the product or service that was going to be central to the company? Another primary consideration, who is going to be driving this effort? Yeah, one thing is founding a company, quite another is actually running it.
I knew from the beginning that BeeZee Vision needed to have the capability to adapt with the times. And I realized that a lot of changes were going to occur, and soon enough the industries as we knew them were going to change. I just did not know for sure in what scope or scale this change would occur. But I knew enough as to not to put all eggs in one basket, and rather create a concept that would be adaptable. And everything we do would be revolving about artistic creation. Now that begs another question. What type of art disciplines are we going to enact under this BeeZee Vision banner?
But no matter what products or disciplines I would think about, consider, or discard; this is where I keep returning to: “I am BeeZee,” and this is my vision. Hence BeeZee Vision. So, what is it? Really “it is whatever I can visualize it to be.” The vision is to bring a creative concept to completion with an artistic flare.
Art is manifested in many forms, for example: Photography, graphic design, painting, illustration, videography, visual arts, music, writing, web development, acting, etc. In other words, any form of artistic expression. This was the center of BeeZee Vision, the same vision I craved for the creation of art – since back in 2005 while I was a young Sailor in Pearl Harbor! Fast forward to this day, I was a Petty Officer Second-Class with a wife and a daughter and a gigantic vision trapped in my head that seemed to be too large to handle.
And quite frankly, it was a lot more than what I bargained for. I knew I had to scale down, and that is a lot easier said than done. It is easy to get excited and all of the sudden this concept becomes a multidimensional monster, and that in itself can be overwhelming.
Around that point in time, my mother moved in with us to Virginia. My mother was living in Ecuador after my grandmother passed away in December 2004. Once I returned to the United States from Italy, my wife and I found a large house that had an “attached apartment” where my mother would live. And that was a good time, especially because she got to enjoy some time with her granddaughter, my daughter Sammy. Around the same time, my brother David also moved to Virginia with us and stayed in the same city we lived in with my mother. This was a win-win because it was a new chapter for us all.
Several years before, along with my mother and my siblings we had a small video production and multimedia company in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I left that company in 2003 when I joined the Navy. Eventually my brother founded his own company and focused on web development. He was able to sustain the family with his small company.
The possibilities to actually start BeeZee Vision as a company started to seem more viable once my brother David came to Virginia. I knew from the start that I was not going to be able to afford the time to run the company, but my brother would. I did a lot more research about starting a company, and to be honest there were signals pretty much all over the place, such as TV ads. These weird signals even included other Sailors who also owned some type of business.
Even though I had a lot more enthusiasm to start up this company, life got in the way and these talks just kept moving any potential for action to the right. In other words, “yea we’ll think or talk more about it later.” And later turned from days into weeks, from weeks into months. And to be honest, I was – no surprise – very busy during that time.
The tide changed after I went to a very long school in Arizona. And this desire to create the company kept growing and growing. Finally, I had a talk with my brother when I returned. My mother wanted to be part of this company, but quite frankly my brother and I did not feel that was a good idea. Afterall, we did work together earlier in our lives, and we did not get along in a professional manner. Which among other things ended up with me making a seemingly sudden decision to join the Navy just to get away from everything and everyone.
The working relationship with my brother was a lot better, though we did have some creative differences back then. But otherwise, we saw eye-to-eye on the actual projects. Fast forward to this other point in time and both of us, being a lot older, had a lot more professional respect for each other. I remember having this conversation with my mother and my brother in the big room “office” that was in my house back in Virginia. The decision to establish BeeZee Vision was agreed between my brother and I, even though I was the founder and in charge of running the paperwork.
Made sense also, because my brother and I share the same last name. But from that conversation it did take some time for the company to finally be founded. There are simply a lot of steps.
The majority of 2003 before July was quite a busy time for me as far as researching and preparing the process before even starting the paperwork. Yes, that means figuring out how to make all the payments, licensing, zoning, etc. In other words, we had to do a lot of work just to even get started. Also, there were some expected delays because of zoning restrictions in the city of Chesapeake, Virginia – where we live – there were a lot of hurdles we needed to sort out. Eventually we did, but it was not an overnight process.
But even before the first piece of paperwork was filed, I had to draft policies, doctrines, regulations, create paperwork, trackers, vouchers, etc. You know, a lot of documents would be needed once the company was to be operational. In other words, these things needed to exist before the company was actually created. Otherwise, you create a company, and you have nothing to run it with. That was going to be my responsibility as the CEO. And by running that means capital and a lot of documentation. That is true for both internal and external documentation in order to legally operate, and to prevent us from getting beat up with a legal faux pas if we missed a step. So, a lot of planning – and yes, it is expensive to even get to that point!
I figured that I wanted BeeZee Vision to be able to take a life of its own. So, it had to be an “artificial U.S. person.” In other words, a corporation. The choices had benefits and drawbacks. The most common was the C-type or the S-type corporations. Neither of them really fit too much with what I was able to sustain – especially because of the scarce time available in those years, so I decided to use the Limited Liability Company (LLC) option. This gave me more flexibility, and if worse came to worse and BeeZee Vision, LLC would go the way of the dodo, at least this would not destroy our family’s financial lives.
I was well aware that most start-up companies do not survive the past six months, and that they normally take several years to grow. I was ok with that paradigm, because I knew for a fact this “busy life” of mine was not going to get any “less busy” – quite the contrary. I was right. My life has actually got exponentially busier ever since. However, it is worth mentioning that BeeZee Vision, LLC™ has actually survived well past that crucial six-month mark, and it is still here after so many years. And although admittedly it has been a rollercoaster (as most businesses can attest, I am sure), I am convinced that the best is yet to come. And we have evolved quite a lot since the first draft was set forth.
From all the options available to actually incorporate this little company, I decided to use Legal Zoom. After doing a lot of research, they were the best option around, and they were very helpful. Sure enough, I got a handsome-looking company binder in the mail with a BeeZee Vision, LLC stamp and a bunch of other documents. Among those were our articles of incorporation for the state of Virginia and a bunch of other documents required for business, and a few other “nice to have” documents. I’m not going to go through all that, because I can speak non-stop for days about all the stuff that you need to get ready. And yes, after we’ve got all this stuff, we were nowhere near close to actually opening for business.
For example, other things required after this step include but are not limited to opening bank accounts, getting the licensing, getting the equipment we are going to use, buy a bunch of office supplies, create the stationary, business cards, all that and more. Again, none of that could have been possible until the company was actually incorporated and active. For example, what good would a company business card do me if there was not an actual company behind it? Fortunately, I anticipated all that craziness, so most of those steps were started and “on hold” before pulling the trigger and pay Legal Zoom for helping us incorporate BeeZee Vision, LLC™ as an actual company. We’ve been working with Legal Zoom ever since. And no, I am not sponsored by Legal Zoom (yet… you listening? Hint-hint Legal Zoom).
Very soon after I’ve got bombarded with a bunch of entities that wanted to provide capital, and business loans and all that jazz. I politely declined all of them. Counterintuitive to many, I just did not want to incur debt. Thus far I have followed this rubric. BeeZee Vision, LLC™ has zero debt, and even when I used company credit cards, I would pay the full balance outright as soon as the transaction was done. American Express was not very happy with that… we used to have a credit card with them, but I paid a total of ZERO interest to that card, so they (sort of) politely disenrolled me after sending a notification. I think they took the rewards with them too. Oh well.
I approached BeeZee Vision, LLC™ finances much the same way I approach mine. Live within my means, and not go spending happy for the sake of buying stuff. Whatever we purchased was something of good quality and it has been holding up for years, go figure! Most purchases thereafter were consumables, and since BZVweb has been doing all the heavy lifting in automatic mode in the last few years, there has been no need to do any additional upgrades. That is liberating. When you treat things nicely, they tend to last for a long time.
Sometime before the articles of incorporation, my brother David and I created the BeeZee Vision, LLC™ logo you see today.
For some time, I had this vision to tie the logo back to the nautical roots embedded in my nickname “BeeZee”- and design the logo based on the Bravo and Zulu signal flag hoist designs. It worked perfectly, because the Bravo flag which is a red flag with an indentation looks a lot like a “B” and the Zulu flag allowed us to trace a “Z” based on its design.
We had a bit of a back and forth seeing other design options. But the flag-hoist theme seemed like the best option. Dave was “driving” in the designer’s chair with the software, bringing to life the design I drafted on the white board. There is a lot of symbolism that is attached to the BeeZee Vision, LLC™ logo.
Bravo flag: The red Bravo signal flag by itself represents transferring of fuel or ammunition, oh and it is also flown when a firing range is active. For example, when practicing shooting with small arms. In other words, there is a combustible action – a catalyst for expansion if you will. The fuel to turn a spark into a fire. I can go on…
Zulu flag: The Yellow, blue, red, and black Zulu signal flag by itself means “I require a tug” – a tug boat being a very strong and maneuverable vehicle capable of moving gigantic ships with relative ease. However, it requires a very skilled mariner to ensure the safe execution of that maritime evolution. This represents the artistic craftsmanship of the BeeZee Vision, LLC™ team. Also, in the Zulu flag we also see the colors of the Republican of Ecuador (yellow, blue, and red). Putting it together is a way paying homage to the founders’ country of birth – Ecuador.
Bravo Zulu – both flags together: Means “well done” and often used as a congratulatory or celebratory terminology in nautical terms (and extended to other military services). And of course, that is the spelling of my nickname BZ (BeeZee). As an extension, since my brother was also involved in the creating of BeeZee Vision, LLC™ as a company, he also shares the same last name as mine.
Black background box: This is a call back to the roots of video projection in a 16×9 aspect ratio. It is in what was known as “video black” in old school video production. This box represents the stage for where the visions come to life on a screen. Every video screen is black until you turn it on and the images appear. Also, black is my favorite color because it is classy and elegant. Further, black attracts heat and energy.
White “B” “Z” white outline: The Bravo flag is outlined in white with a subtle bevel and drop shadow. Aside from being shaped as an angular letter “B” the cut on the flag creates an angularly sharp “C” shape. In this logo it also represents how concepts take time to refine and extend far beyond the original level of inspiration (for example taking a stick figure into an actual tridimensional character). The Zulu flag is traced through the middle accenting the letter “Z” with more prominent bevel and shadow than the “B.” The letter Z extends, and it is connected but superimposed over the “B” corners signifying the commissioning of a project towards completion (hence the “need a tug from the Zulu Flag” mentioned above). The Z continues to the edges over the black box denoting that every piece of art can be timeless, and every detail matters. Further, we never know how far and wide something created by BeeZee Vision will travel.
Black Diamond in the middle and the yellow triangle on top merging with the “Z” across the Zulu flag: The black diamond shape in the middle is a “camera shutter and aperture” – this is where all the possibilities for an artistic expression exist. It is black, because black traps heat and energy. On top of the diamond there is a yellow triangle. That represents the light shed on top of the camera bringing a concept that was not yet conceived into the light (reality). The yellow triangle is inverted because it shows the expansion of an idea towards the completion of a project. This yellow triangle sips under the top portion of the Z, as the Z travels through the process, it is shared and reciprocated with their artistic creation and its authors. That is why the black box and the white triangle meet with no separation from each other, but rather it connects with the other colors. Yellow, Blue, and Red are the primary colors for Art. Not to be confused with the primary light colors Red Green and Blue.
Red, White, Blue, and yellow colors: These are the common colors from flags and geographical locations associated with BeeZee Vision.S.A. flag: Red, White, and BlueState of Hawaii flag: Red, White, and blueState of Virginia flag: BlueCity of Chesapeake flag: RedS. Navy flag: BlueRepublic of Ecuador flag: Yellow, Blue, and RedCity of San Francisco de Quito flag: Red and Blue
BeeZee Vision, LLC™ typography: BeeZee Vision is spelled out with a larger and more accentuated BZV. Depending on the background the typography will be in white or black lettering. The LLC™ is smaller because it prevents from detracting from the company’s name. The focus is always returning to “BeeZee’s vision.” And my vision is to facilitate art manifestations.
As you can see the logo was not done on a whim, but rather there is a lot of symbolism associated with what it represents. As with everything that BeeZee Vision, LLC™ is meant to represent, is to bring a concept to completion with an artistic touch. In other words, the BeeZee Vision concept boils down to promoting art through technology.
Finally, after the company was founded in Chesapeake, Virginia – USA, it did take a little while to start working on actual projects. Putting projects together and getting our own portfolio did take a lot longer than I would like to admit. We did all we could with what was available at the time. But then again, from the start I knew I had a very limited time to dedicate to this company while still serving on Active Duty (Military).
Understanding these limitations, originally, we provided two main services. Customized web development and customized computer terminals. The multimedia lab was upstairs while the computer lab was downstairs. My brother David was the main force driving those efforts as agreed, this gave me the opportunity to take care of the administrative burden. Which is pretty exhaustive and a lot more complex than I wished.
Subsequently, BeeZee Vision, LLC™ became my brother’s main source of income, but of course just being just the two of us, it limited throughput. Meaning that there is just so much a person can do on their own. I was not as worried about that because I did have a full-time job serving in the U.S. Navy. So long as it was able to sustain my brother’s efforts, we agreed that we can scale it to a point that was sustainable. My goal with BeeZee Vision, LLC™ was for it to grow to the point it would be viable by the time I was ready to retire. I was still a decade away from that time.
Also, even back then I had a feeling that sustainability was going to be the most important factor to resolve early on. I figured that going into debt for operations, or hiring full-time personnel was not the best option. A company needs time to grow, and any step I took was calculating the fact that I did not want to have any debt. Everything bought for BeeZee Vision, LLC™ was paid outright as I mentioned before. I don’t intend to change that course of action. I’d rather have a scaled version that is sustainable than to run something unsustainable and lose all the time and effort invested in the company.
I remember having to buy little by little a lot of pieces of furniture and equipment as the zoning and licensing process was taking place… well before we even got a license in order to start actual operations. That licensing process also took a very-very long time. And of course, we were not going to jump the gun until we were fully legal to operate. Once we finished all these documentation requirements, then suddenly everything else moved very fast. But by that time everything else was ready. Go figure!
However, there were some dark times looming ahead.
Circa that time my mother had to return to Ecuador because our elderly great-aunt had an accident. When my mother left for the airport, it was the last time I saw my mother alive. My mother was diagnosed with incurable medical conditions and that also prevented her from traveling back on a plane. Because of my duties in uniform, I was not allowed to return to Ecuador. For about three years I knew my mother was deteriorating and that her demise was inevitable. My brother David returned to Ecuador to be with my mother during that time.
My mother needed 24/7 nurses. In the USA it would have been insurmountably expensive, and she would not have been able to get the same level of care as she would have back at her own house. Either way, it was no longer possible for her to get on a plane. The decision, almost hastily was to create a BeeZee Vision, LLC™ independent franchise in Ecuador, which was later known as BeeZee Vision – Ecuador. Let me emphasize that the entire reason to create this franchise was because my mother was terminally ill. And this gave my brother the best option to take care of her, while having an office in the same house without having to start back from zero
This independent franchise became my brother’s company. I voluntarily emphasized I had really no say on how it operated, unless it negatively interfered with BeeZee Vision, LLC™ in USA. But I wanted to legally separate [for legal reasons] both companies. BeeZee Vision – Ecuador had their own financial instruments and accounts, and all other things required under Ecuadorian law.
Although I never actually was able to visit BeeZee Vision – Ecuador myself, my brother set up all the equipment and everything he needed in order to start operations. But he was going to need help to run that business. The other factor is that BeeZee Vision, LLC™ Ecuador, although it shares a name with BeeZee Vision, LLC™ – USA, they were each independent companies. That was also important because legally I was not able to get any revenue from Ecuador because of my uniformed duties. All this was essentially under my brother’s purview, and this then became his primary source of income. Legally BeeZee Vision, LLC™ – USA was not to interfere with BeeZee Vision, LLC™ – Ecuador business. Nor was I going to get any pay from this franchise. The intent was primarily to provide a sustainable income to benefit my mother’s many medical expenses and afford my brother proximity with her.
We hired an old friend who had recently gotten a master’s degree in marketing to work in BeeZee Vision – Ecuador. Being marketing her area of expertise then the decision was made to add “Digital Marketing” to the roster of services in BeeZee Vision – Ecuador. The other services mirrored what was available in the USA, which before that included Web Design and Development. Markets and clientele, as well as business culture was very different in Ecuador than what it was in USA. Unfortunately, during those years, the entire economy around the world tanked. Ecuador being a small economy suffered substantially.
This global economic downturn paired with creative differences between the team in Ecuador were an omen for what was next to come. Shortly after my mother passed away in late 2014, the friend who was working with my brother got married and moved to Europe. The markets in Ecuador where still developing, one of the biggest problems is that some customers were taking a very long time to paid for services rendered. But somehow that was “ok” under Ecuadorian law and colloquially accepted at the time. The decision was made to close BeeZee Vision – Ecuador and transfer any contracts (if the customer so desired to BeeZee Vision, LLC™ – USA). That transferring process is quite complex, because the laws are different between Ecuador and USA. However, it worked with minimal disruption to the customer because both countries have the U.S. Dollar as the currency. In either case transferring was addressed very carefully in order to ensure that everything was legal and good to go on both ends.
BeeZee Vision, LLC™ had some movement, and we quickly maximized our thruput capabilities. But we were not ready to hire any additional personnel. Especially no full-time staff hiring. The economy in the USA was still pretty terrible during those years, therefore we figured the best solution was to give people options with automated services. Both my brother and I, as the only two people in the company, had a lot of flexibility as far as what we could or could not accept – as far as projects are concerned.
We already had a web-services-marketplace engine on the side, but we knew we had to automate it at a greater scale. The solution was the creation of BZVweb, which was to be hosted under its own website www.BZVweb.com – and for years, this has been the main engine behind BeeZee Vision, LLC™ – and will continue to be active. Automated services allow our customers to buy domains, hosting, security certificates, do-it-yourself-web sites, etc. This helped manage the throughput because some of the older contracts had a very arduous demand signal, which meant that it also took a lot of time to complete certain projects.
Before that period while BeeZee Vision – Ecuador was still active, there was an attempt to automate a lot of those services; however, the business culture at the time (on those years) was very different to what it is now. And as we were bringing some trailblazing solutions, some people were just not ready for it. In other words, we were perhaps ahead of our time, but we had no choice. As I emphasize, BeeZee Vision – Ecuador was established because my mother’s terminal illness.
As predicted, my time became more and more scarce. And once again BeeZee Vision, LLC™ proper was now in the back burner. Uniformed duty is arduous, and some of the things that I wanted to bring forth for the company were getting harder to accomplish – there was simply not enough time. These things, among other factors, forced the decision to keep it scaled. This included some contracts that had to be declined because I simply did not know how much time I was going to have available to work on that. My brother was already managing other projects, and those were taking a lot of time. Hence, I was forced to give those contract opportunities to somebody else, rather than risk not being able to complete the projects. It was a tough decision, but it was the right choice to make.
I am glad we made that choice, because BeeZee Vision, LLC™ is mainly in automatic mode, just kicking alive thanks to our automated services. From time to time, we congregate with my brother Dave to draft some new innovative ideas. And sadly, I have to admit, some of those had to be put on the back burner because life happens. But it takes resiliency to not give up.
One thing that I always say, I know exactly what I need to do, and how to do it… I sometimes just don’t have enough time. To that point the last seven years have been insanely busy. And to be honest, I had to make my peace with the fact that BeeZee Vision, LLC™ for the time being would only be a part-time venture for my brother David and me.
My brother David accepted a job in Apple, and we’ve agreed that the best course of action was to ensure BeeZee Vision, LLC™ was doing its thing in automatic mode, which seems to be sustainable… that’s good. And the plan was to continue that until I was ready to retire.
Well, that time for retirement has arrived, and here I am. I am writing an article that helps me reminisce on this long journey. It is as though BeeZee Vision has been waiting for me to finally be “free.”
www.beezeevision.com and www.BZVweb.com slide for the CLOSEUP RADIO interview 15NOV2023
As my retirement nears, I am very excited about reviving my little company. As I said BeeZee Vision, LLC™ has been doing its own thing in automatic mode, mostly under BZVweb. By quelching any egos, and planning ahead, BeeZee Vision, LLC™ has survived 10 years without going under, and remain with zero debt! But we were not ready to scale it up because I simply did not have enough time to manage all those many moving parts. That is finally about to change, I will finally have what I haven’t got – free time! And I must admit it is a great feeling to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Just yesterday I was getting my last professional evaluation by my Commanding Officer (it went very well by the way), and we agreed that the next few months are intended for me to have a safe transition into retirement, and finishing this chapter with the U.S. Navy. On Sunday, October 15, 2023 I celebrated my 20th year anniversary in the U.S. Navy – that’s a whole long story on its own right. I will be retiring on April 30, 2024. But I will also be in a myriad of meetings and medical appointments and a bunch of other things. My commitment was to ensure the ship was back in home port safe and sound, and leave my areas of expertise certified onboard the ship. I have met those requirements; my areas are fully certified.
As I have been working on this transition, I have a lot of projects with BeeZee Vision, LLC™ and HALF Life Crisis™ that are just itching to come out. I have learned through all these years that temperance and patience is a virtue, and if I have waited this long, then I can wait a bit longer to ensure that what I am putting set forth is viable. Afterall, finally I am having some time to work on this situation. In fact, this article alone helps me remember the road we’ve traveled. Although (spoiler alert) the full story is a lot more complex than what I have described in this [already super long] article.
Yeah, there is a lot more to the story, even though it seems some parts I just glossed over – well, I admit, that was on purpose. I can write for hours about those… and I intent to – eventually. Actually, BeeZee Vision, LLC™ will have its own blog in the site and we will share our story it in our many social media sites. As an artist I want to create that rapport. I don’t want to be the typical faceless corporation. BeeZee Vision, LLC™ is part of me, and by the way is the engine that host this very website (www.halflifecrisis.com).
So, yeah… I am excited about what the future will bring. One of the seminars I had to take as I transition out of the U.S. Navy was about entrepreneurship, and this helped me get all the latest information and greatest skills & resources to be ready for the next chapter. And I would be very naïve to think that I have everything already figured out. That would be delusional, there is always room for improvement and something new to learn. I embrace change, and that is something that I do not take for granted. With that said, my intuition has been spot-on, and I am glad I was never forced to close BeeZee Vision, LLC™ – and now this company is waiting for me as I leave the service.
Also, as I mentioned before, and it is worth repeating, Half Life Crisis™ and BeeZee Vision, LLC™ are intertwined, obviously because both projects are part of me. And while Half Life Crisis is my own vehicle to write and express what is tumbling on my mind, BeeZee Vision, LLC™ is the vehicle that makes Half Life Crisis possible.
Every now and then, I will also announce on this site news about BeeZee Vision, LLC™ and look forward to seeing you visiting our site there too! Some of the articles we have on this site will also be shared in the B BeeZee Vision, LLC™ Blog (such as this one). Thank you for taking the time to hear my story. I am sure my brother might decide to write about his perspective on the BeeZee Vision, LLC™ story, I am not a fan about putting words on another person’s mouth. Besides, I am sure he will be able to tell you his story a lot better than I ever could. HLC
