Engaging Life with Courage and Intelligence
A post with a historical reference
This is a video about the Rebel Who Measured America: George Hume, the Jacobite Exile Who Taught George Washington to Survey. In 1716, a 17-year-old Scottish aristocrat sat in a London prison, sentenced to die for treason. Instead, Britain shipped him to Virginia as convict labor — and accidentally exported a founder. This is the…
Just when we thought President 47’s madness and criminality couldn’t get worse…they do. As the Fourth of July approaches, I have a confession to make. As much as I love the America I grew up in, it is getting harder to love a country with a sizeable number of Americans who support the growth of…
Complacency affects everyone. No one can be vigilant about everything, all the time. Although we all struggle to address problems or adapt to changing conditions, failing to meet important challenges and opportunities can be serious. The following is a video about various forms of complacency: https://youtu.be/WhmhEKkMIMo
Has Trump’s MAGA taken his followers and all of America into an era of madness? Is America REALLY celebrating a beautiful Sunday in a supposedly Christian country with a human cage match on the grounds of our nation’s White House? Has America devolved to become so un-Christian, unpatriotic. and disenchanted that blood sports, celebrated on…
The following video uses Trump’s “weave” technique of jumping from one topic or context to another. The underlying issue is the scourge of broken promises and dishonesty that cuts across American politics and culture. https://youtu.be/S-nt7ai27dA
Although those Republicans who claim to be Christians have every excuse and rationalization thought of by humankind, it is undeniable that they follow the teachings of MAGA more than Christ. Here is a YouTube video my brother found entitled The GOP Jesus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ2L-R8NgrA
There are rising numbers of American men under 40 who remain unmarried, unpartnered, and unattached, yet seek female companionship. There have always been unmarried men, but the recent increase in their numbers is notable. This video touches on another increasingly frequent occurrence: catfishing. The following video dramatizes catfishing in 2026: https://youtu.be/Zsu7tXSXkDc
This video focuses on the disconnect between the sacred and the profane. How and why do people who call themselves religious vote for an objectively irreligious leader? Are they in a cult? Do they cynically hold their noses, so their political or cultural beliefs trump other beliefs? Do they REALLY believe that President 47 is…
It is funny how people on every point in the political, religious, and economic spectrums demonize or simplify people they do not know or understand. We all do it. With scant direct information about someone from the village of Licun in Guangdong Province, if we hear one story about someone from that village, our minds…
I’m in my 70s, and I have gone through several economic downturns caused by irrational exuberance and just plain stupidity; today, the hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end. Despite the rosy picture portrayed by President 47, who has personally gone bankrupt six times, and the 40% rise in the semiconductor…