Barber Shop Musings...

"There is a cliché about visiting the hairdressers that is globally recognised: the conversation you have whilst you sit in the chair, helps you to reflect on your life at that moment in time." 

Like a good barman, hairdressers or barbers, can often act as a mirror to our lives, in as much as gazing at our own reflection in the mirror each morning, helps us to take a long, hard, look at ourselves. The hairdresser can often ask probing questions that opens up our inner motivation, to emotions that we were previously unaware of. Whilst we sit in the chair reflecting on our current circumstances, we can clearly see the passage of time in our faces and be rueful of wasted opportunity or resentful of the emotional baggage we have acquired on our journey.

A few weeks ago when I went for a haircut, the barber was cutting the hair of a man who clearly had no money to pay for it. His friend, loitering in the doorway with a can of larger, set the scene for the conversation I would later have with the barber, before I had even stepped through the door. It’s always an interesting experience, when we get the opportunity to chat with someone that we don't often see, particularly if they are relative strangers whom we only know through the need for a haircut. 

Our conversation focused on the good deed he had just performed; cutting the man’s hair for free. Viewed in the big picture, it was perhaps an inconsequential action to perform. However, as a means of promoting community, it was an action that demanded recognition. The man having his hair cut had a horrific story to tell, describing how he was to go to court the very next day, due to an episode of domestic violence and the ensuing retaliatory attacks which followed. The hairdresser did the human thing, having compassion for his plight and cutting his hair for free. 


Once the man had left, we chatted about how sometimes we know within our being when something seems right. We had previously spoken about another character, whom we both knew, that I try to help out from time-to-time, which was a coincidence considering the situation that had evolved before us. The type of conversation we had therefore, was on a more neutral standing than previous encounters where, as relative strangers, we could relate to each other on a topic that was at a much deeper level than the usual, ‘Have you been anywhere nice on holiday this year?’

There is something noble in helping a fellow human being in a time of need. My barber doesn’t profess to have a faith however, he felt the need to help this man. Why would this be so? If Darwinism and evolution is how humanity as we know it today, developed from the primordial soup, natural selection and survival of the fittest would surely determine our actions and we would do nothing to help this man. Certainly, the man in the barber’s chair was pleading for his own survival, dependent on the barber’s charity for his creature comforts, perhaps migrating from one source of charity to another, in order to survive. Why would rival humans want to help another human if natural selection supersedes any notion of ethical mortality?

Those who promote naturalism as a worldview for how life has evolved, tend to suggest that humanity has an evolved sense of morality because a degree of coexistence would encourage the sustenance of species. If the man in the chair was prone to violence, as his tale would suggest, it would be prudent for the barber to cut the man’s hair so as to avoid any future conflict that might threaten the barber’s existence. These protective values could be passed on through cultural meme’s, which are communicated within species, via reinforced behaviours that are adopted through our observation and on reflection of our human interactions. A more radical concept to this transference of knowledge, is that there is a biological meme residing in the brain that is preconditioned for favourable interactions with our fellow man. This enables the proliferation of species to preserve the population of that particular tribe.

This is not in any way proven, as questions posed to the originator of the theory, Richard Dawkins, is ambiguous about the exact nature of a meme, whilst taking to social media to deride those who believe in anything other than scientific reason. Christianity would agree with those that feel that humanity has an in-built sense of consciousness towards each other, while suggesting that our sense of humanity is God given. However, our human nature has become corrupted over time. The account of the fall of humanity, as depicted by Moses in Genesis 3, tells of humanities direct interaction with our creator God being severed. Our disobedience towards God is revealed when we favoured our own thoughts and our ability to reason, over that which God had commanded, hence Dawkins' many derisory comments regarding religion.

One would perhaps have to agree, that in order for humanity to have survived this long, particularly in the face of yet another conflict in the Middle East, that we would have had to learn certain behaviours, in order for us to accommodate our modern way of life. Perhaps these behaviours allowed us to ignore certain types of injustice or reinforce good behaviours, in order that we can maintain our status. Is this the sentiment that the barber displayed, in his compassion for the man whose hair he had cut for free? How then, did I appreciate his actions considering that I was born in another part of the country to him and therefore experienced a different culture. Being born to different parents, and therefore we share no direct genetic link to his?

It is curious that people can even agree with each other in order to build community. We do not all share the same sentiment or sense of justice when dealing with civil matters, so how is it that we can sense a common cause? When we have question of this type, we stray into the territory of moral absolutes. How can humanity adopt over-arching principles of justice, when we each derive our sentience from a wide variety of cultures, ethnicity and education? Often, we have a deep mistrust of undefined moral and ethical values that we do not understand because we find life which exists in contravention to our way of thinking, as simply alien…

Multiculturalism was a social and political initiative aimed at celebrating the differences between nationalities within communities and accommodating different cultures that were not indigenous to the often insular society that originated within the geographic area. Whether it be a nation, or a housing estate, the multicultural message was made to encourage everyone to be tolerant of difference and be compassionate towards that which we did not initially comprehend; to offer hospitality, generosity and equality in order to achieve harmony. What I have noticed, is that the communities which have settled into areas of the town in which I live, have not necessarily integrated into our western culture but have used the freedoms within it, to live out their own lives as expatriates of the countries they left.

Multiculturalism did not necessary enable the distinctiveness of each new culture to be added to the fabric of our British way of life rather, multiculturalism fostered an environment in which peaceful co-existence could be accommodated. I would much prefer that our interactions be based on our oneness as human beings, rather than through the social groups of race, colour or creed. However, it is obvious that the characteristics that make our belief systems distinctive, also serves to categorise and divide us into sub-groups. 



When tensions arise, it is easier to place labels on people of differing cultures so that each group can be categorised and assumptions can be used to make judgements about each group and apportion blame. In this current age, we have witnessed a rise in fundamentalism, extremism and radicalisation that is not simply assigned to religious observance. These traits can also be also found in politics, economics, ethnicity and race. These can all foster amity towards our fellow man, as demonstrated splendidly by two world wars.

Do we go to war to preserve our way of life, our sense of morality or simply for vengeance? Perhaps we can justify aggression because the enemy drew first blood or we needed to defend our property? Survival of the fittest, as a determining factor for our actions, could be difficult to quantify without a moral foundation that is recognisable as truth. When British Prime Minister Tony Blair chose to go to war with President Bush against Saddam Hussein in the first Gulf war, supposedly searching for weapons of mass destruction, the British people were left perplexed when none were found. I have actually touched a piece of the barrel of the supergun purported to be from Saddam’s weapon of mass destruction in a British aircraft museum. 

Presumably it was left as a piece of propaganda to promulgate the myth that Saddam could have attacked the west within 45 mins of deploying the weapon. Interestingly, the real threat, as seen in Syria, was the stockpile of chemical weapons that were hidden away in Iraq, which were left over from the Iran/Iraq war in the 1980’s. These have been uncovered in the more recent conflict with Syria and IS.

Just as the barber couldn’t be certain whether the man whose hair he cut for free, was indeed telling the truth, he chose to go with an intuition to help him out. He employed a set of ethics that went beyond reason, stepping into the realms of faith. Blair was adamant that Saddam was a threat, simply through the paranoia of intelligence gathering, rather than any rational data gathering. It was as though he and Bush were looking for a cause to go to war when none was apparent. Many suggest that religion causes war, but this cannot be further from the truth. This statement is accepted by many without any real evidence. It is easier to agree with the perception that all who fight under a religious banner, do so because they have been radicalised, rather than examine the facts for themselves.

Emperor Nero (AD 58-64), tasked himself with rebuilding Rome in a style he preferred. He blamed the Christian minority for burning Rome to the ground when in fact, he had done it himself. The Christian community were made scapegoats for his own crime, in order to facilitate his own needs. He used propaganda to reinforce his message with many thousands of Christians massacred. Today, ISIS (Islamic State of Syria and Iraq) are purging Iraq and Syria of any who do not recognise the Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, killing any who they deem to be apostate.

Many Christian groups have been decimated by the ethnic cleansing of towns now found in territory controlled by ISIS, by what can only be described as barbarism and almost medieval in nature. Beheading, under Sharia law, is the sanctioned assassination or punishment technique for those who do not convert to Islam, commit adultery or are involved in sorcery. Saudi Arabia, a member of the UN human rights council, has beheaded 59 people this year so far… more than those western hostages beheaded by ISIS at the time of writing. Perhaps the rise of ISIS is no more than a kind of natural selection, which is to be expected of evolutionary processes? The use of fundamentalism in religion as the vehicle for promoting the rise of one people group over another, more established civilisation, is perhaps a familiar pattern of cause and effect or is there something more going on?

There is indeed something more at work here within this axis of evil, than simply the survival of the fittest. It is the rejection of a set of values that determine how we should co-exist, in favour of a new order that demands a fundamental change in the way that we interact with one another. Convert to Islam or lose your life, is the bleak choice offered to those terrorised by ISIS fighters. Many have witnessed terrible atrocities in which pure evil has been displayed by their captors, who display no compassion and no remorse. Women and children too are abused and held in captivity as a commodity, some as economic slaves bought and sold like animals at a market, while others are horrifyingly kept as sexual slaves. Historically, conquering fighters have tended to use rape as a tool to subjugate the people they are oppressing because it is a form of power and control.

Indeed, the whole affair smells of the power struggle that was suppressed under the often brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, to emerge again now that the Americans had finally left. There is always opportunity in a power vacuum, where it seems that the curtailment of Al Qaida by US operations in Afghanistan, enabled ISIS to garner support and wealth, in order that they could achieve their objectives. Its behaviour is almost medieval in nature, perhaps being an echo of the various caliph struggles between differing power groups of the regions and the crusades of the 12^th century, to which we in the UK are perhaps more familiar with, even if it is only through the folklore of Robin Hood. I’m afraid my knowledge of world history is limited and I am unfamiliar with the full picture.

It is clearly part of our human nature to derive wholeness through our sense of belonging, either in a group, family or even within a nation. When anyone’s identity is suppressed by dictatorial ideas of power or totalitarianism, there is the inevitable revolutionary actions that flow from the suppression of self-expression. As has been said in many situations, ‘one man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.’ (First written by Gerald Seymour in his 1975 book Harry's Game).

As a young boy, brought up in the UK in the 1970’s and 80’s, the news topics everyday seemed to cover two international news events, the Iran/Iraq war and the cold war, while domestic news was always about the IRA bombing another target. Now in my 40’s, the conflict may not be so close to home but the reality of conflict occurring around the world, still impacts on our thoughts. 

In the last month, the people of Scotland were given a referendum to vote on whether they continued to be part of the constitution of Great Britain, or to go it alone. The Scottish vote was not a violent altercation against a government perceived to make all of its decisions in London, at Scotland’s expense, rather it was a reasoned political and economic debate, fuelled by a passion for identity. Would the Scots form militant sectarian groups to threaten the British government through bombing, kidnap, ransom demands, extortion and propaganda campaigns? I don’t think so. 

The real IRA we are told, still has groups in Ireland prepared to harm others for their cause. The Guardian newspaper reported on Tuesday 7th October 2014, that a pipe bomb was thrown at a police patrol after a shooting of a man in the chest.

The democratic political process has been largely successful in Northern Ireland and yet, these dissidents believe that they have a cause to fight for. This kind of behaviour is evil. Believing that one’s own rhetoric is more important than the peace and security of the majority is narrow minded and delusional.

Whatever reason the Israeli government used to justify the atrocities on a whole people group, using superior firepower and economic sanctions, it seemed to be disproportionate to the rocket attacks launched from Palestine but repelled by the Israeli ‘iron dome’ rocket interception system. There is of course, the circumstantial evidence that the disproportionate loss of civilian life was due to Hamas using innocent civilians to shelter their assets in schools and hospitals, yet there wasn’t a point where the Israeli military or the nation they protect, were seriously at risk. The cowardly action of Hamas is more evident of a desperate battle for survival, rather than any tangible incursion into Israel and it is equally abhorrent, that Hamas would martyr their own people for such small gain.

Whilst we were debating the legality of the conflict in Palestine, ISIS took vast swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, to form a new caliphate. This Islamic State would not have traditional international borders but instead, it would be bound by a brotherhood of freedom fighters, with the enforced conscription of communities from the land that they have occupied whilst exerting the rule of fear.

This type of behaviour is man’s pride in himself, revelling in his own ingenuity, whilst sometimes displaying inhuman behaviours. Man’s self-assurance, which only ever answers to his own inflated ego, helps us to believe the lie we keep telling ourselves, that our way is the only way. This is why we keep doing the things we do to each other. Christian ethics however, recognises that at the core of man lies a rebellious nature, displayed at the beginning of creation, refined by our culture and our education, and finding expression through our actions. 

"Our modern way of life, has helped us to develop a rational and materialistic mind set, which seeks to prove, categorise, explain and harmonise what we seek to understand within our own world view, whilst trying to remain in control. We are willing to accept certain negative behaviours in the search for harmony, yet are unwilling to accept the extremes of behaviour that go beyond what even we, in our own corruption, are prepared to tolerate."

It appears to be acceptable for the developed world to attempt to control national borders and the economic migration of workers, as long as it provides a cheap source of labour for the economies of those that provide work visas. When these foreign workers saturate the market and are perceived to be a ‘leach’ on the indigenous population, tensions rise and prejudice is revealed. Focus turns to colour, ethnicity, cultural division and religious persuasion, or any identifiable label that could lever the economic migrant or refugee out of a nation state. It is tragic but apparently accepted that a ship, overloaded with economic migrants, would capsize and sink, killing many on board who dreamed of a new life in the west.

On the 15^th October 2014, it was reported in the Guardian newspaper, that a ship with 500 migrants on board, had been deliberately sunk in the Mediterranean, killing nearly all aboard her. Leaving Egypt for Malta, the migrant traffickers themselves, scuttled the boat and pocketed the cash they coerced from each desperate soul who boarded the ship. 



Trafficking children for sex is equally appalling, with the Salvation Army in the UK, reporting that 1800 British born men, women and children had been brought to their attention, in need of rescuing from the situation they have found themselves in. These atrocities towards fellow humans, which have been reported to the authorities in recent days, are just the tip of a problem that seems endemic in our civilisation, with many more souls existing under the radar than are helped, without hope of ever being rescued from their plight.

There are far too many examples of inequality in the world, to even contemplate the idea that mankind has somehow got itself sorted out. For Christians, these examples of injustice are symbols of a spiritual battle being fought between good and evil. It may sound like a Hollywood blockbuster, but it is far from it. The enemy of God has every conceivable trick and deception at his disposal and will stop at nothing, in order to achieve his objective of condemning as many who are willing, to the same fate that he is to be served at the end of time. 

Every act of barbarity, like that performed by ISIS, was birthed in Satan’s heart. We know little of his origin, except for the fact that he thought of himself as being greater than God, even though he was simply an angel. His heavenly power play drew other angels to him, causing a battle in which he was cast down to the earth in punishment for his rebellion. Satan no longer resided in paradise, instead he roams the earth looking for victims to deceive.

Going back to the passage in Genesis 3, we find Satan attempting to deceive man by striking out at his conscious reasoning. By questioning God’s authority and Sovereignty, Satan placed into the minds of men, a sense of doubt over God’s ability to make demands of his creation. Satan successfully draws man’s attention away from God, onto his own selfish desires. This deception is now buried deep within the nature of man’s consciousness, where we prefer to go our own way, despite all the evidence to the contrary, because it best suits us.

There is always someone somewhere, benefitting from the plight of the weak and the destitute. This is not God’s will for the world, it is the devil and his schemes that puts one man up against his fellow man to see who would survive. You can see the dynamic between doing what is good and being selfish, in the many interactions we have each day. I reprimanded some of my students for littering today. Their response was, “Can’t see what you’re complaining about, the cleaners can pick it up… they get paid for it!” When I questioned the morality of their statement, they simply shrugged their shoulders and were not bothered by my insistence that we should have respect for our environment and those that work in it. "I mean, have they not watched Wall-e?" They couldn’t comprehend that the cleaner’s job was not to pick up their litter, but to clean everyday marks, empty bins and dust surfaces.

To the student, a cleaner was someone who cleaned up after them in an almost sub-servient role to their status as a student. It’s like going to McDonald’s and leaving your trash on the table for the restaurant worker to tidy for you. You ate the food, so you clear it away… the restaurant workers job is to sweep the floor around you, wash the tables and service the bins. They may have a warm heart and take your tray off you or even ask you, ‘Have you have finished with your food?’ before offering to take your waste. You don’t just expect them to do it, it’s a question of being welcoming. However, our human nature can be easily trained into believing that to leave your litter behind is the norm… after all, they’re being paid, so let’s just rob them of their dignity and let them clean up after you.

It is the same expression of selfish human nature, and the infinite number of connotations of status and birth right which we use to justify our claim, that we witness in every unequal human interaction that we can bring to mind. Where this type of morality exists, abuse is never far behind. As soon as we de-humanise each other, we allow abuse to fester and we can easily turn a blind eye to any injustice that we see because it best accommodates our world view of self and our relationships with others.

When we examine the motivation of the comments made by the student, the core reasoning they used, is not so far removed from that which ISIS uses to justify their barbarism, or the one Israel used to bomb Palestine, or indeed any confrontation, large or small, where we feel that we have a right to enforce our will over that of others. What motivates their abuse of any who do not share their belief, is the world view they have adopted through the conditioning of the Islamic fundamentalism they have signed up to. Namely, to disregard the humanity of the person who rejects their world view, as simply a commodity that may be useful in propagating their beliefs. The reason why some are beheaded, some are sold into slavery, and are some forced into marriages or used as sex objects, is to install fear and control. Every bully that has ever held court in the school playground, has used fear to control, it’s just a matter of extremes.

"God hates this. He hates what we have become and He hates what we are willing to do to each other. "

There is however, a way-out for humanity, one which God himself provided through his Son, Jesus. His was a perfect sacrifice. In order for all of this evil to be quashed, Jesus was ransomed for us. On his shoulders, Jesus carried the sin and rebellion of the world in the most symbolic of gestures, his own death on the cross. God knew that mankind was destined for a bloody future because our nature had been corrupted by Satan, and it was always his intention to rescue us from the deception he sows.

Jesus came to destroy the control that Satan has held over humanity, by releasing us from devils bondage, which leads us into sin, sickness and death. When watching the scenes of the Ebola epidemic, the term disease, never seemed so apt for a contagion that is transmitted through touch. When you separate out the word phonetically, dis – ease, we are reminded of how uneasy we feel about a biological contaminant that can kill so indiscriminately. 



The missing Nigerian school children, abducted by Boko Haram in April, are still missing despite a vocal celebrity protest about their capture. Although some have escaped, 216 others remain in captivity, with no real efforts made to rescue them (We will see on Tuesday 20^th October 2014, if the negotiated ceasefire leads to their release). Again, this evil act serves to reveal the work of the devil in corrupting what God has made.

Some may argue that this is indeed proof that God doesn’t exist, or that he is at least absent, or that he doesn’t really care. However, the opposite is true; it reveals our need of God. Humanity requires an absolute truth based on objectivity. As humans, we cannot remain neutral. We will always favour an opinion that best suits our needs. We would rather seek out a truth that suits our particular situation rather than one that can be applied in all circumstances with fairness.

The problem that some have with an ontological argument for an absolute truth, is that we must accept that humanity cannot know all that there is to understand about life and the universe… Questions such as ‘Why do we exist?' Or ‘Do we have an evolved sense of self?’ or ‘Were we created?’ exposes our vulnerability to establishing false paradigms or world views that only service our own accumulation of knowledge and sense of self. Both sides of the argument, either for a creator or for naturalism, have to accept that human nature has become corrupted. No matter how ‘grand’ we have become in our own esteem, we over-estimate our wholeness or goodness by an alarming degree.

That isn't to say that you have to believe in God to be a moral person. Atheists can be moral people and do good deeds. However, trying to reconcile why a person made up of only body and mind, would choose to act altruistically, is complicated when placed against the evolution of naturalism. Unfortunately, naturalism believes in the integrity of man and in his certainty that we can understand our origin, without the need of God. Christians would counter this by suggesting that the science enhances our understanding of God, adding credence to the Biblical text and adding an extra dimension to our faith life. 

"What Science cannot reason and therefore rejects, the Bible is able to reveal through the history of humanity and the civilisations that it has created, to the truth of our created existence. The hand of God is revealed in the natural world and through human interactions… through individuals like Abraham and Moses, and through the Hebrews, Israel and the Church."

In the beginning, God chose men and women of faith to honour his name and to uphold his laws, these people grew into a nation under Moses and a Kingdom under David. Abraham was promised descendants as numerous as the stars for his faith and Joshua led the people of Israel into the land that God promised them. In the land that God gave to the people of Israel, they were to uphold God’s Holy law, known as the Torah, so that they revealed the justice and mercy of God and to avoid human suffering. The harmony of their civilisation was to reveal God’s glory and draw other nations to him. God honoured the Israelites when they lived true to his word, but drew back when they went it alone. This exposed the nation to enemy threats who amassed on all of their borders, becoming vulnerable to attack and ultimately being led into exile.

Land is very important to many cultures as a measure of status and God’s provision, as can be seen today with territorial disputes and military incursions, dictatorial regimes, economic sanctions and enforced borders. Jesus changed the focus of our attention from land and material possessions to faith. God’s favour was no longer limited to a geographical location or a people group, as it was with Israel. Jesus’ death was for all people, of all nations and all circumstances. His purpose was to redeem the world from the greed and corruption that had embroiled it in sinful actions and break the rule of Satan who as a rogue landlord, has enslaved us into a pattern of behaviour that encourages deception and falsehood.  

In the creation story, Alexander Venter in his book, 'Doing Healing' (2008), describes man as the landlord, looking after the earth and all that was in it. There was no disease, death or decay when God was in direct relationship with us. When Satan tempted Adam and Eve to ignore God and do what they thought was right, humanity lost its automatic right to immortality. This is where death, disease and decay entered into our reality. Separation from God, due to our sin, meant that we lost the automatic right we had, to live in paradise... humanity ushered suffering into our existence, contrary to those who say, 'How can a loving God allow suffering?' God's answer to this question is to point to Jesus, betrayed, ridiculed, flogged, suffering injustice, punishment and death. God understands the question of suffering completely. 


As punishment for our disobedience and to answer for our sin, humanity now had to work the land that we were once the landlords of. We were excluded from paradise, having to weather the seasons and enduring the prosperity and hardship that each acquiesces to, whilst fending off animals, growing crops, building shelter, looking for warmth and searching for water. This left our bodies exposed to sickness and disease and ultimately, death. God did not make us for this but he did provide the means by which we could survive….

Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return. (Genesis 3: 17-19, NLT)

Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. (Genesis 3: 22-23, NLT)

God didn’t want humanity to exist eternally in a state of rebellion and toil. This would have been hell on earth. Our life span was shortened so that we did not have to endure hardship. Can you imagine what life would be like knowing both good and evil, if those first barbaric descendants lived forever? I doubt we would have developed as technologically advanced as we have done today as IS and Boko Haram prove with their barbarism. This truly is the work of the deceiver, Satan, who robbed humanity of life in paradise, becoming a rogue landlord by trying to stop us from receiving our inheritance, given to us by God.

Jesus’ death on the cross won back the free-hold agreement to the earth and restored our relationship to the creator when we accept his terms. We live in a period of overlap, where we still see evil in the world but we also see God’s grace intervening in the world, to make all things good. For a while, we have to endure all that life holds for us, being filled with the Holy Spirit, in order to bring us life. We have the power within us to bring about great change if we trust in Jesus’ saving grace and believe in the power of the spirit. He lives in each one of us, in order to bring about this change; Christians are called to be light in the darkness, living in the world but also living apart from it. Through the knowledge that Jesus will come again to judge injustice, to set free the captives and to heal the broken hearted, we go out into our communities, sharing Gods love and his message of reconciliation; that all who come to Jesus, will find peace.

Only faith in Jesus can lead us through these dark days because the hope he offers is eternal. God reached down into our humanity and reveals his love to us as a human who walked the earth and experienced life as we do today. Knowing what we have to deal with, Jesus hung on the cross to release us from the bondage of this earthly existence, to live again in paradise, with the keys to the Kingdom in our hand and a message to go and tell others of what the Lord has done... COME JOIN US