GOP Race

The Republican presidential race pleases me more than ever, because heading into the Iowa Caucuses my two favorite candidates are leading, Mitt and Ron.  My opinion doesn't much matter though, as I am a liberal democrat.

I like Ron because I love his foreign policy idea; liquidate the empire, and defend and rebuild this country. I like Mitt's health care plan in Mass. Put these two men together, and you've got something.

The complaint that Romney flips flops too much certainly has validity, but too much is made of it, nonetheless. A man who changes his mind is not necessarily a politicking opportunist; sometimes, he is open minded and flexible. Obama man that I am, go Mitt - Ron!

Privacy Fences

What better characterizes modern middle class America than the All American privacy fence? Seven foot brown boards, side by side, which eventually warp and turn grey. My problem with these is not that they keep people from seeing in, but that they keep me from seeing out. That's why I don't care how many people have privacy fences, as long as I don't.

They seem rather ugly, especially when everyone on the block has one, and the neighborhood is an endless patchwork of brown boxes.

The interesting part is the sociology behind it. Why are privacy fences so popular? What do they say about the mindset of the people who erect them? The societal values which encourage them? Are privacy fences a rejection of community? That might be the tempting explanation. But maybe the family is out, visiting neighbors. People who have fences often get out, get around, and make friends...

Who knows what privacy fences mean, or whether they mean anything?Since all other human behavior is explanable in psychological terms, why not this? We await word from the experts.

..continued from previous post...

...I nearly fell in love with the first woman who spoke to me online, sight unseen. Her looks, whatever they might be, didn't matter. The mere fact that she had spoken to me was sufficient. The mere fact of typing words into a computer to a person claiming to be female permitted me to imagine her anyway I wanted, and I went with it.

I had already begun to understand the interplay between chat rooming and instant messaging.

The chat room was a singles bar which led to the one on one intimacy of instant messaging.

All it took was one woman, I started instant messaging with one woman, and I was hooked. I was willing to instant message anytime, with anyone, from then on. That's how appealing the medium was. At the time I believe AOL had a monopoly on the instant messaging technology, and it wa a big deal to have AOL, just to have IMs.  Thus, by 200, AOL had 17 million members or so, and that would grow to over 30 million by 2005. Then, they lost the exclusivity of their chat rooming instant messaging software, they underwnt a disastrous marriage and divorce to Warner Cable, and facebook came along, and today, evidently, AOL is but a shadow of its former self.

But in 2000 it was hopping, and so was I.....to be continued...

Reality Internet

The internet has been compared to the wild wild west. Much activity, many seekers, little law, order, or organization. It recently came to my attention that AOL chatrooms, once the very engine of online social life, have all but vanished. The question is: why? I always thought they were fun.

When I signed on to AOL, in 2000, chatrooms were all the rage. They wre innumerable, with room topics from A to Z. The first one I ever entered was called "physical fitness chat", and it was full of people, few of whom were discussing physical fitness. For the most part they seemed to be hitting on each other.

Other topical chatrooms revealed the same basic circumstances; folks discussing anything and everything other than the topic at hand. The place was full of energetic, attention seeking singles, looking.

I don't really know why, but I decided early on that I wasn't going to participate in chasing women, or even makig friends, on AOL. Perhaps it was shyness, or fear of relationships. I decided that I would be an observer, and only an observer, taking notes, collecting material for an article, or even a book.

I made no attempt to keep my intentions secret. I figured it would make no difference to anyone , would have no discernable impact on anyone's behavior, that a self proclaimed "journalist" was among them.

Nevertheless, despite my intentions, I was drawn into the chatroom discussion, and my grand adventure had begun...to be continued...

Labor Unions

There is work to be done, and people need to do it, so, the question is, how is it to be divided up? The work, and the money, that is...

Don't get me wrong. The system as it now stands, the free enterprise system, is the wonder of the world, for it produces great prosperity. The question is,: could we do even better, in fact, much better, than we are now, by using a different system? And the answer, dear reader, is, unequivocally, resoundingly, YES!

Too much poverty, to much concentration of wealth, too much pollution, too much environmental destruction. We all have the same complaints, be we democrat or republican. Don't we all agree that we all need to work? Work for something greater than ourselves, whether we get paid or not? Don't we all agree on this? Sure we do.

I looked a conservative republicanin the eye the other day, and said: "Are you willing to concede that labor unions do not exist exclusively or primarily for the purpose of destroying free enterprise?"..

..and he said..Yes! Oh , how wonderful, and conciliatory, and open minded of him! May the rest of the GOP follow suit, in the pursuit of truth...

Success

...continued from previous post...

..each day Brenda did what I told her to. Some days I told her to call Mike, somedays I told her to email Mike, and some days I told her to do nothing. She kept me posted as to what Mike was doing in response to our plan, as orchestrated by me. At one point in time she got so impatient and frustrated that she quit, and vowed to join a convent. After all the time I had invested in this project, I wasn't about to let it go, just when we were on the verge of victory, and I told her so. I told her that she would quit - over my dead body.

AT another time I lost my patience, and ordered her to totaly ingore Mike. It worked.

He came around, finally, slowly, as I used Brenda to manipulate him more than he will ever know...

They were married that Christmas...

To this day, I have no idea what happened to them, to their marriage. For all I know they may still be happily ever aftering, or long divorced. I guess I'll never know.

The Match

 ...continued from previous page...

...Brenda really wanted to be with the guy in Kentucky. She had developed a great relationship with him, had spent a lot of time with him, and felt she knew him well. But his debilitating depression had seemingly ruined everything. Communication had dropped to near zero.

I suggested to Brenda that she take a few tips from me, and I ended up becoming her full time relationship coach. She felt secure doing that, listening to me, making her daily contact with Mike according to my instructions. For my part, I was confident. I felt strongly that given enough time, and the right approach, I, acting through Brenda, could bring Mike back to her.

Each day early in the morning I talked to Brenda, and we made our plans for the day. It was apparent to me that the whole thing would take some time, probably months. Brashly, I told her she'd be married by Christmas.

It was slow going, but gradually I brought Mike around.Lifted his spirits with the solid support of true friendship, then began dangling the bait. And oh, wht bait it was. Brenda was a real beauty, in all ways...

The days went by, and the weeks, with little or no discernible progress, and oftentimes Brenda and I got frustrated and impatient...but onward we slogged, as Christmas approached....to be continued...

Internet influence

continued from previous page...

The more I talked to Brenda, and the more she told me, the more convinced I became that there was no way in hell Mike had stopped being interested in her, even though she was convinced he had.

The more she told me about Mike, the more I felt I understood him, understood his point of view.

And one thing was obvious to me: Brenda was messing everything up, killing her own chances. Her possessive, dramatic, shrill pursuit and treatment of Mike was just too much for him, in his current weakened state, and I knew it. But he loved her, and wanted her, this I also knew, or thought I did.

I told her this, and explained it to her carefully, how her attitude and behavior were driving Mike away, even though he wanted to be with her, deep down. We talked about it, and I told her that if she would listen to me, take my advice, do what I suggested, she could turn the situation with Mmike around, and return it to the happy state it had previously enjoyed. Cockily, I told her I could, through her, "manuever" Mike into marrying her, if that's what she wanted. That's what she wanted...to be continued....

Brenda's Story

..continued from previous page.....

..her name was Brenda, and as I recall she was in her early forties, divorced, with four smart energetic children, in a large wood frame house. In the year 2000 or so she was a substitute teacher, and, like almost every other singel adult at the time, was a member of America On Line. For those were the days, late 20th early 21st century, of the aol chatroom. American On line dominated the ISP industry, with 20 million members and growing, with what seemed like billions of chatrooms, frequented by seemingly millions of people. I met Brenda in one of these.

Amid the hubbab it was obvious a lot of men were interested in her, and theat she could have her pick. Nonetheless, she was willing to develop a platon friendship with me, and it was every whit worth it to me, because of her intelligence and great personality. 

Her problem was that thy guy in Kentucky with whom she was in love had vanished on her. Or not exactly vanished; she kinda knew what was going on with him, but was, to say the least, most vexed by it.

It seemed that he, a robust construction man, had a manic depressive condition, had fallen off his medication, was basically doing nothing but staying in bed, and was for the most part refusing contact with Brenda, and had been doing so for several weeks. Brenda was devastated.

I kept asking her questions, and found out that Brenda and Mike had met several months previous, fallen in love, and made several trips to visit and spend time with each other. They were planning to marry. Then, suddenly, this...

But I kpet listening, and the more Brenda told me about the relationship, about MIke, and about the current situation, and more I became convinced that there shouldn't be any problem.

Brenda thought all was lost, and was despondant. But I knew better, I knew there was hope... in fact, I knew there was more than hope, there was a sure fire way to reel in ole Mike...

Cyber Power

One can do wondrous things on the world wide web. One can do wondrous things on the internet.

One can coerce people into getting in shape, merely by using words.

One can create a marriage that works.

I have done both, and I am certainly nothing special.

I met a beautiful lady online, whose looks reminded me of, say, Shania Twain.  I would have had her in a heartbeat.  But, inexplicably, she wanted somebody else.  Some guy in Kentucky.

She lived in Baton Rouge, and poor I, in Arkansas, befriended her, and she befriended me.

But she wanted to be with some guy in Kentucky, and I was determined to help her....to be cont...

Regression?

A few months ago I signed up for the internet, and started this blog. Then, something interesting happened. I received in my email an ad for something called "speed date". Curious, I took a look at it, then moved on and forgot about it. But that wasn't the end of it.

A day or so later a pop up appeared on my screen, featuring a picture of a lady, and an instant message box right next to her. On top of the pop up the message said something like "Mary from Dallas is online now! Say hello to her!"  Curious, I did exactly that. Within a few seconds the box gave me a message from "Mary", and she said hello right back at me! In the lower part of the box was a timer, counting down from five minutes. So Mary and I exchanged casual comments for five minutes, our time ran out, and she was gone. And I thought "so much for that."

But it wasn't over. In fact, it had just begun. Lady after lady popped up on my screen, and some of them initiated the conversation, while most didn't. I gave it another try, and sure enough, had another five minute conversation.

Meanwhile, I kept getting ads from "speed date", offering me unlimited access to online dates for a bargain basement monthly fee. It occured to me that since I was already being sent speed dates while paying nothing, I might as well save my money. I assumed speed date would simply vanish, since I hadn't signed up for it. But it didn't vanish. The ladies just kept coming, and coming, in such great numbers that I was hardly able to keep up with them. Every time the pop up box told me their first name, location, and age. Sometimes it included a picture of them, and a profile. Some of them had only the profile, and no pictures.

I started wondering why it didn't stop, and I also started to wonder why anyone would pay for the service, since it seemed to be available for free. Monthy payments apparantly gave the subscriber more than five minutes per date, but I didn't think I needed more time, since, after all, they were all people who lived a good distance from me, though most of them were within two or three hundred miles.

The dates still keep coming, from all kindsa folks, all ages, all locations. Usually I dont' respond to them, because, a litle bit of speed date goes a long way.

Having noticed that chat rooms are seemingly becoming extinct, I figured that businesses like speed date and facebook have replaced the chats. I remember how volatile and argumentative the old chat rooms were, and I suppose their replacement is a good thing. Maybe people just got tired of all the chat room intrigue, drama, and fighting, and opted out of group gatherings, in favor of one on one contact.

Facebook apparently provides a good balance, giving people access to many other people, but one at a time, instead of all being in the same box at the same time.

I wonder whether the citizenry will eventually tire of this, and return to neighborhood gatherings, at the coffee shop, at the community center, in real time, and real space.

Which Way

There can be no disputing the fact that The United States of America is a beacon of hope within human history, living proof that prosperity and freedom can be achieved and maintained. The nation had the good fortune to achieve its independence at a time when the lofty ideals of inherent human equality and dignity were circulating through enlightenment Europe, and those ideals came to America.

Abundant natural resources, and enlightened thinking from Europe were the two great pillars upon which American success were and are predicated.  Without the English and French America as we know it would not exist. Other than jazz and baseball, American culture is derived, and even baseball is an offshoot of English sport. The strength of America is that the entire world contributed to its construction.

My entire life intellectuals have been forecasting the decline of America. Why not? Every other civilization has either perished entirely or evolved into something unrecognizable.

We must assume that nothing is inevitable, because we must assume that we have the power to construct and improve, rather than perish.

At long last we seem to be at least making a beginning effort to wisely utilize natural resources.

Have we begun too late?

Every generation condemns war, yet every generation unleashes yet more war. The United States and the entire world seem to be precariously poised between annhilation and a thriving future.

Obviously changes must be made. The extent to which we openmindedly accept  positive change and courageously discard traditional but destructive social institutions will determine our future.

The Question

We know that individual people can and do get sick, and die, and we tend to assume the same thing about civilization, although observing it and proving it and seeing it are more difficult when considering whole civilizations. We tend to think that the Roman empire ceased to exist, although actually it evolved into something else. WE say that the Mayan civilization "ceased to exist", though for all we know there are  some  Mayan descendents running around somewhere today. Native American civilization still exists, sorta.

At least we can agree that civilizations, countries,can and do undergo great changes over time, some of which, but not all of which, are beneficial.  Is the "America" of today better or preferrable in any way to the "America" of 500 years ago? That's a matter of opinion. But it is certain that the current U.S.A. came into existence only with the essential destruction of an existing civilization.

What might eventually come to replace the United States of America, and all the other countries of  our current  global civilization?  Too soon to tell.

But one thing is certain; countries and civilizations do not want to die. It may not even be necessary that they die, but in this horrendous world they do, and they sure don't want to. Ask anyone.

Exactly what are the forces at work today in modern America which help strengthen our current civilization, and what forces are tending to destroy it? That, alas, is the question. Let us seek for answers.

Space Aliens

One of my best friends told me he thinks its silly to believe in space aliens. For some reason it kinda shocked me to encounter this attitude; I guess I'm used to living in a world of believers. But I'm sure a lot of people agree with him. I don't. Here's why.

Over and within the past four hundred years most humans  have come to understand the universe as a three dimensional vastnes, with many stars, and eight or nine planets, among which is earth. It has always been assumed that if life existed elsewhere, it would be on other planets. So the huge question always was: are there any extra-solar planets, and how many, and how many earthlike, in the universe?

Over the past fifteen years, from the mid nineties till now, the answer is becoming evident: not only is the universe full of planets, but there are many earthlike planets out there. We are seeing them with our newest and best telescopes; earthlike planets orbiting other stars. It might once have been silly to belive in space aliens. It no longer is. In fact, as each day passes, it becomes sillier and sillier not to.

Violent Culture

At long last the war in Iraq is over. Thank heavens for that. Like most American wars, it is highly questionable whether this one was a good idea. There are many to choose from.

It could even be argued that American culture is violent, and always has been, having been founded in violence. What about the future, America's future? Will the violent tendency continue?

Throughout history there are examples of people living in harmony, violence free, for long periods of time. So we know that it can be done. The question is:how?

If humanity doesn't learn how to eliminate war, then the future is worse than bleak, because the weapons are ever more powerful. Consider for a moment how deeply addicted American culture is to violence. Consider the unlimited violent images in the American media, which are there only for shocking entertainment, never to enlighten. Violence is a primary marketing tool of the corporations, because we the people are first told what we want, then given what we want.

Violence can be a big money maker. The fifteen years following victorious world war two were the most economically prosperous in American history. Our corporate masters seduce us with violence, making us insensitive to it. We the people must rebel from this imposed culture of death.

Culture

If contemporary American culture were a horse, it would be shot. In other words, contemporary American culture is not entirely healthy. It may be that our economic prosperity, along with other factors, has produced a high demand for escapism, fantasy culture, and seduction.

The MSN homepage is a perfect example, and perhaps, symptom. At least half the stories have something to do with some celebrity, most often an actor, and scandalous, shocking circumstances.

We are fed these stories presumably because we lap them up. We pay to get more of them.

The prime time TV shows are still becoming more shocking, violent, and fantastic, if that's possible.

Let us remember that large corporations are responsible for almost all of this. They do what makes the most money, and they own the media.

Do we get the constant sex and violence because we want it, or, are we told that we want it, and then inundated in it?

Its time for a popular cultural revolution in America. The American people must tell their corporate owners to either improve the quality of the entertainment they sell us, or will will stop buying.

How Much?

The corporate oligarchy, "our corporate masters" as Gore Vidal calls it, never stops seeking to seduce we the sheeple in order to manipulate and exploit us. All this adrenalin pumping violence, passion, and drama we are fed by the media effectively keeps our minds off our more tangible concerns, such as, what percentage of the world's population will eventually end up in poverty, and what per cent will own and control everything.

We the exploited really don't have to cooperate in our own exploitation as much as we do. For the most part, we are willing accomplices. But as the situation worsens, as the extreme circumstances of inequality increase, the masses begin to stir, and awaken.

No, it isn't the one per cent versus the ninety nine per cent. But this symbolic description depicts a fundamental truth about humans; that we express our desire for survival by competing fiercely for power and resources, and this competition leads to extreme inequalities, which, in a high density population, generates conflict.

Certainly the people who have everything earned and deserve it. And hard work and good decisions can produce great prosperity for anyone. But we must ask; do we want a world with 7 billion mansions, each with a private jet parked in the lavish garage? Just how much material prosperity do we want, how should we distribute it, and how much human wealth can planet earth endure?

Only Enemy

By the year 2050, when I will be 95 years old, there will be 9 billion people on earth. How well will they all get along?

The point is, they'll all have to get along rather famously, if they're to survive. Most of the two billion new people will live in big cities in Africa and Asia, and these cities will need to be functional, which means free from violence and poverty. The question is, as always, how many people can the planet accomodate?

Please remember that cataclysmic disasters are not inevitable. Although conditions now look bleak, particularly with regard to global warming and future climate change, there is no guarantee that the world will end in 2012, or any time thereafter. The human race might thus be burdened with the responsibility of taking care of itself for hundreds, even thousands of years.

The choice of possible catastrophes is impressive, ranging from viral epidemic to asteroid collision to runaway global warming. Shouldn't we, at the very least, prepare now for the possibility that none of these ever occurs?

It'll have to be a highly cooperative world of nine billion, with all forms of competition, including economic, sufficiently regulated to avoid chaotic destructive conflict.

Resources and living space really shouldn't be a problem, contrary to popular opinion. Even water won't be the problem we think it will. Miama Florida currently desalinates millions of gallons a day.

Humanity's only enemy is itself.

Mud Slinging

Here we go again. Here comes the bitter, angry part of the presidential campaign. Governor Perry proclaimed in front of Newt Gingrich that any many who would cheat on his wife would cheat on anybody and anything.  Rick Perry has every right to feel desperate. His political fortunes peaked and declined months ago, and Newt appears headed towards the finish line, well ahead.

American political campaigns have always been ruthless and bloodthirsty. Thomas Jefferson's opponents accused him of being an adulterer, and Andrew Jackson's opponents accused his wife of being a bigomist.

Whether the accusations are correct, and they often are, isn't the point. The point is, must we go there? Must we stoop to such barbarity, such crassness? Yes we must, history suggests.

But suddenly there's a good sign. The attacks against Newt's love legacy seem to be failing. This means either that our cultural standards have plunged, or that we are tired of mud slinging. Of course, both Jefferson and Jackson, in spite of their atackers, were successful.

Maybe the voters will force politicians to discuss policy, and refrain from the personal attacks.

Money

Of all the miraculous inventions of modern man, what one is more impressive than money? Our modern economy is the wonder of the ages, and modern money, paper and electronic, the wonder of all wonders, a simply marvelous tool. Like all tools, there are certain ways to use it, which are productive, and other ways to misuse it, which are destructive. The important thing is to know which is which, and this is no easy task.

If a rich guy takes out a twenty dollar bill and lights a cigar with it, is this monetary abuse?

Money, of course, doesn't really exist. Its purely symbolic, a state of mind. Which is precisely why money is such a wonderful tool. It is whatever we the people say it is. If there are absolutely no rules concerning money then eventually economic chaos will destroy society. Too many rules tend to diminish prosperity. But since money is inherently cooperative, since money means something only because we all agree that it does, surely nobody would disagree that we need some degree of cooperation in maintaining the integrety of money.

The problem with the American dollar is that it doesn't mean as much as it used to, is less valuable now. A certain amount of this is inevitable, but abuse of the American dollar due to lack of regulation has been and is a far greater problem than diminished prosperity through stifling regulation.

Proper economic regulation does little or nothing to hinder growh and prosperity, and sometimes growh needs to be slowed. Growh is not a sacred cow; there is a limit to economic growth on this limited planet.

Values

The newest complaint against Obama, evidently, is that he has never been to Israel. 
Seriously. For real. Obama has never been to Israel, and according to Mitt Romney, this is a very bad thing. A really bad thing, because, according to Romney, Israel is a great ally of America, and for Obama to have not yet visited it is absolutely horrible, disrespectful, mean, whatever....

Good heavens, is there no end to all this sniping, critizing, and attacking? Is there no nook and crannie we Americans won't explore in order to attack and destroy one another? And for what? Victory? Power? Ego?

Hell, no wonder we can't get anything done in this country. No wonder our problems lay festering and simmering like volcanos waiting to erupt, only growing worse, building up pressure while we...argue amongst ourselves. 

Now is the time to put individual egos aside, and work together for a better future, which, at present, we and our descendants do not seem to have.  Personal gain is frivolous. May we all have a steady, secure life. Community service and cooperation is everything. Let us beat the swords of celebrity consumer culture into the plowshares of sharing, giving, and love.

Harmony

A friend of mine kept telling me, over and over again, that the answer to all problems between people is, simply, communication.  And each time my friend said it, I agreed with it. How could I not? How could anybody not? Communication certainly is the key, but communication is not necessarily positive and productive. Often times it is destructive. So, communication is unproductive or even harmful unless the underlying attitude is good hearted, and, above all else, open minded...

It amazes me how narrow minded most people are, at least Americans. I can't find anyone who is willing to agree with me that both conservatism and liberalism are "good" and "true", and that the same is true of capitalism-socialism, Christianity-non Christianity, and so forth, and so on.

A willingness to change one's opinion's and beliefs is crucial to harmonious hunan interaction. When we feel compelled to make such changes we tend to feel a sense of defeat, of loss. Instead we should feel the joy of liberation and progress.  Let my philosophy be better tomorrow than it is today, Dear Lord...

Reform

The American political system is, as everyone knows, entirely messed up, dysfunctional.
we seem to have a veritable bevy of mediocre political candidates, dysfunctional, disputatious leadership, and disastrous policy. Assume that we all are to blame, and leave it at that.

I wish we could all discuss philosophy and policy without engaging in personal attacks, and could learn to understand the opinions of those with whom we disagree, rather than distort and defame them.

We have a motley crew of republicans scrambling to run against a president with a very mixed resume thus far. Maybe what we need is a third major political party incorporating the best ideas from both liberals and conservatives. 

Perhaps we need a political system in which running for president or other high office doesn't require millions of dollars.

disrespect

Something horrible happened to me the other day. I walked into Taco Bell, ordered, got my order, paid, sat down, glanced at my receipt, and noticed that I had been given a ten per cent discount.

I was elated. Then I thought, "but why"?   So I asked. The very young lady behind the counter matter of factly replied "senior discount".

I danged near went ballistic. Senior discount? What? Me? Me, a merely lad of fifty six, and not looking a day over thirty five, I mean, how in the hell could she even tell that I was/am a "senior"? Aren't seniors supposed to be sixty five?

So I calmed down and decided to ask her. Her reply was predictably evasive, something like "its company policy, sir."  OK...sure...

I'm just guessing that nearly everyone either already has or at some future time shall experience something like this, and it was really no harm, and it benefitted me...but still...

Early in life we are offended because we are young, because of the wqy we are treated because we are young. Later in life we experience the same thing, in reverse. Like they say, nobody ever gets out of this alive..

Lottery

Life,it appears, is a complete lottery. You bump into somebody's shopping cart at the store, you end up happily married for fifty years. Or, you swerve to avoid the shopping cart, smile at the lady, and move on, never even meeting her...

Anyone not believing that life is a lottery feel free to ask a St. Louis Cardinal fan.

Then there's the expression "if its meant to happen, it will happen." You hear that one all the time, from nearly everybody. Is it true? Seemingly. Does it contradict the lottery of life? Seemingly.

That which appears contradictory is often complimentary. Facts which appear to be in mutually exclusive contradiction are in fact both true. In essence, Republicans and Democrats are both right.

The true plague of our times is not war, poverty, disease, or natural disasters. The true plague, my friends, is narrow minded thinking, wrong thinking, as a buddhist might say. Our civilization is the way it is because of the way we think.

Mind foreruns all conditions, mind is chief, mind made are they, says the buddhist Dhammapada.

When we think that both liberals and conservatives have good points, we succeed, it says here.

When one thinks or speaks with wicked mind, evil follows one, says the buddhist scripture. And when one thinks or speaks or acts with pure mind, happiness follows one, sayeth the same source.

Here, it says the universe is far larger than all human activity and truth. Here it says we should regard everyone's beliefs and opinions as having value, and we should think  no one's truth to be absolute and ubiquitous. And here, back here on the farm, it says we live in shockingly narrow minded times, and should strive to change that, before we strive to change anything else, such as violence, war, and poverty.

And it says here "amen to that".

Owning UP

I did something really, really stupid the other day. I got caught shoplifting at a local grocery store.
The fact that it was unintentional is irrelevant. Its the result that counts. So now what I need to do is redeem myself, and I hope the court lets me do that. Punishment is to teach a lesson, and I have already learned my lesson, already punished myself, more than anyone else ever can. Restitution is to compensate, the penalty is to payback, and then some, for the damage done, while sincerely apologizing and pledging reform.

I love the community in which I live and work, and harming it in any way is unthinkable to me.

Now what I need to do is to help the community. I plead guilty, with great remourse, and I humbly sugges that my penalty consist of a combination of monetary restitution, and community service, perhaps several hundred hours, doing work that helps everybody, such as garbage collection or cleaning.

May the dear Lord grant me the opportunity to contribute to this lovely community.

Amen

Compromise

The divisive political culture and its attendant political paraylsis prevalent in the U.S. can be seen as a result of widespread narrowmindedness, encouraged by extremism. People take a stand, stake out their territory, and cling to it tenaciously, as if the very thought of ever reconsidering or changing is utterly inconceivable. This, my friends, is the essence of narrowmindedess, blindness, and it permeates our culture to the core.

Ask any American what their favorite movie is, and then ask what they consider to be the best movie of all time. Chances are their two answers will be the same. If you think about it, you realize that this is narrowminded.

Every issue has more than one viewpoint, and all viewpoints contain at least a kernel  of truth, usually more. No matter how stongly we feel our convictions, we are better for it if we simply make the effort to understand the point of view of those who disagree with us. That is the only possible basis for compromise.