Engaging Life with Courage and Intelligence
Lucky for American revolutionaries in 1776, the English king had a persistent and recurring mental problem. King George III was not an absolute monarch like King Henry VIII, but he still had considerable power and influence over English affairs. The following is a video about King George III and his personal challenges. As Mark Twain…
One of the scourges of our time is the proliferation of amplified disinformation and propaganda. Many Americans simply accept blatant lies and distortions as the gospel. This might not be a problem if it were localized to a few, but apparently, it is widespread. The following is a short video by a pair of college…
If you have used chatbots, you may have noticed that most chatbots have become more predictable. In one sense, that is good, but in another, it is limiting and perhaps frustrating. The key interface and human skill to use an AI-based chatbot is the prompt. With ChatGPT or any other chatbot, we, as feeble humans,…
Extremism often arises when people or groups believe that the existing social or political order is deeply unjust and that only radical change—sometimes by force—can fix it. It typically grows out of a mix of historical grievances, economic inequality, cultural tensions, fear of losing identity or power, and the appeal of simple answers to complex…
Our time travelers, Abe Lincoln and Mark Twain, sat down to ponder the future of America. The following video compares America’s past, present, and future, focusing on a burning issue both men experienced firsthand. Should America be controlled by the people or by a small number of rich and powerful elites? This video was added…
Lincoln and Twain now find themselves in a pizza parlor with many young people. The big screen television on the wall plays a bitter debate between political candidates. Instead of debates about policies, most politicians engage in name-calling and identity politics. In essence, it is a con game in which voters play the role of…
In the I Love Lucy television series of the 1950s, Ricky Ricardo used the catchphrase, “Lucy, you got some ‘splaining to do” whenever Lucy was caught in a lie or some other misdeed. Like her, most of us are forced to ‘splain things when we tell a fib or make a mistake. However, apparently, some…
Humans have been conning and tricking other humans for eons. Most cons are on a relatively small scale, perpetrated by devilishly clever people. We hear about these “little” con jobs regularly on the nightly news. Elderly people are told to put money into a Bitcoin ATM because a bank employee said they would lose their…
Time travelers Abe Lincoln and Mark Twain are adjusting to 2025. They have finally found the appropriate venue to discuss American cultural and political realities.
American history has been dramatically altered by warfare. This was true in the American Revolution, World War II, and the American Civil War. The outcomes of wars were determined mainly on the battlefield, but the “peace” that follows can be either successful or unsuccessful. The peace that followed our Civil War was not entirely successful….