Golden Mean, Rest In Peace.

IN THE MOVIE "BECKETT" Richard Burton plays the part of Thomas Beckett, a drunken womanizer, and friend of King Henry II, who is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury because Henry, played by Peter O'Toole, wants a man he can control, or thinks he can, and the Pope cannot. It turns out the king cannot. Beckett decides to take his new position seriously. At one point he is savagely attacked by a knife wielding peasant, intent on murdering the usurper. Then, the same peasant overhears Beckett eloquently praying for guidance, as he strives to genuinely meet the requirements of his office. Instantly, said peasant falls to his knees in reverence, realizing finally that Beckett is truly no usurper. Burton, in his inimitable voice, remarks "you seem to be a young man of extremes."....human nature tends towards extremes, in thought, attitude, and deed. We Americans are no exception. Extreme right, extreme left, nothing in between. Compromise, an art which on several occasions saved the Union, seems lost and forgotten. Compromise formed the government in 1787, and saved it in 1820 and 1850, or at least postponed disaster. Today it would seem we are determined to be either a nation of citizens armed to the hilt, or stripped of weapons altogether. The rich are extremely wealthy, and the poor, extremely poor. A American is either a physical fitness and health fanatic, or a drug addict. We wage war while marching in the streets, protesting war and shouting for peace. Golden mean, rest in peace.

Contending In Vain

IT IS the responsibility of all government to provide for the welfare and safety of the people it governs. The government of New York city has taken this sacred responsibility to the extreme, by enacting legislation forbidding the sale of soft drinks of over sixteen ounces within the city limits. by doing this, they ensure that nobody will ever drink too much soda pop,either that, or, that everyone will have to purchase more than one soft drink. To the rescue of those who do not yet have diabetes but want to comes the judiciary. The municipal statute has been deemed unconstitutional, not surprisingly. Out the window and down the drain goes the effort to protect sugar addicts from themselves. One might think that the hundreds of members of the NYC city council would have realized that this would happen, or would have consulted an attorney about it in advance. Altruism is seldom stayed by the power of legislation, but in this particular instances, fortunately, it has been. Like the philosopher said: "against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain." At least this once, it was not in vain.

Defying comprehension, Going Home Aged

President Obama took a walk to a fast food Mexican restaurant and had lunch, much to the dismay of those assigned to protect him. Alas, it is difficult to protect an adult from his choice of menu. President Lincoln often took walks, accompanied by only a single uniform. President Grant was once ticketed for driving his horse and buggy a bit too rapidly around the capitol. President Truman once confided that he had discovered a secret passage through which he could briefly escape into a world without secret service. All modern presidents have complained that their freedom as a private citizen was replaced by imprisonment upon ascension to the presidency. And yet, those who seek the nation's highest office do so with a fervor and zeal which nearly defies comprehension. invariably, they are relieved to be relieved of the burden, and they go home, greatly aged.

Culture of Denial

White people in the American south are more inclined to deny global warming than any other people in the world, including, evidently,stone age tribal people in the Amazon rain forest. This seems puzzling at first, but upon further reflection, becomes quite clear. The culture of the American south is a culture of denial. These are the descendants of the people who justified slavery on the basis that slavery enabled slaves to enjoy the spiritual fruits of the Christian religion, or that the slaves were "better off" living in a "civilized" country. During the ongoing one hundred year plus era of racial segregation and discrimination, the argument of denial has been, for the most part, that African Americans are quite content to live as second class citizens, quite content to live in ghettos, with low paying menial jobs. One could hardly expect southern man to accept global warming, and to taek immediate action against it, could one?

The Price of Empire

AMERICANS ARE FOREVER arguing about whether their country is virtuous or sinful, and both sides have strong arguments.It very well may be that the United States, in rebuilding Japan after destroying it, was virtuous - or did the Japanese rebuild their own country? It might have been better to have simply let the North Vietnamese govern south Viet Nam without opposition, without fighting a war, and it might have been better for the United States to never have attacked Iraq. Such are the wages of pro active behavior- controversy........................................................................................................................................and how are our dear Russian friends getting along with their proactive imperial project in the Ukraine? All empires have learned, at length, that the price of empire is high.

Accepting Each Other's ideas

The bitter divisiveness which currently infects American society is, as we all know, nothing new, but only a continuation of the same ole same ole, civil war. The way to end or ameliorate it lies within the hearts and minds of us all, as we all know. For those of you who happen to be left wing American liberals, please don't forget the advantages and virtues of capitalism, and the basic foundational truth of conservatism in general. Remember,oh liberals of the left, that traditional conservative values having to do with religion, family, work, and country are all based on truth. The only difference is that liberals believe that liberal ideas are needed to augment conservative ideas, while conservatives see no such need. Conservatives of America, open your eyes to the successful socialism all around you, from public roads, bridges, and highways, to city sewer systems and public schools. Try leaving all water, sewer and garbage collection systems to private enterprise, and watch the chaos begin. Thus we see that there is value in differing systems and philosophies of economics, politics, and everything else. The universe is big, big enough for everything humans can invent to fit inside, including all human thoughts, attitudes, and ideas. There is room for everybody. And besides, the best ideas in this universe most probably don't even come from this planet. Truthless Reconciliation on this planet, among humans, might leave us room enough to accept better ideas from other planets, if they should ever happen to arrive.

Coming Home To Roost ;Of Chickens, Overextended Empires and Teachable moments

The proverbial chickens are coming home to roost in Iraq. The ISIS, the Islamic Army of Iraq @ Syria, or whatever, is already in control of two of the country's largest cities, Mosul and Tikrit,and how much longer until it overruns Baghdad, throws out the puppet government of the United States, and and initiates a regime of conservative religious repression that will make the Taliban look like the ACLU. Is this a teachable moment for America? Are such moments any longer possible? How do we say "the perils and pitfalls of empire?" It happened to the ancient Romans,it happened to the medieval mongols,and it happened to the rather modern English. Pride, greed, and overextension, caused by a shortsighted inability to understand that the more one invests, the more one risks. If you intend to expend great amounts of resources controlling large parts of the world, you had better be sure to include a rock solid, fail safe scheme for reaping even greater resources from controlled (aka conquered, colonized, occupied) areas, which invariable proves difficult, if not impossible, though heaven knows they all (all the great empires) try hard. Alas, someday we may learn to leave well enough alone.