Engaging Life with Courage and Intelligence
A surprising percentage of Americans side with the narrative that some things cannot and should not be thought about or acted on. Guns, including automatic firing capability, should not be controlled. If God allows dozens of crazy men to shoot 20 people at a time, who are we to object? A minority of Americans (about…
Several recent opinion pieces and historical reflections concur on one point. Our country was once guided by civility, logic, hard work, capital investment, land, property, and the rule of law. Our economy and society were based on these foundational elements. Today, our economy has morphed into an attention and speculation-based economy. To quote from a…
The daughter of a hypothetical English king is getting married. The king has spent an enormous amount of money battling internal and external foes, and he needs to purchase 500 bottles of French wine. While he pretends to have unlimited wealth, he is desperate to spend as little as possible for his daughter’s wedding. However,…
Sometimes it’s hard to be a Republican Giving all your love to just one manYou have bad times, and you have good timesDoing things that you don’t understand But if you love him, you’ll forgive himEven though he’s hard to understandAnd if you love him, oh, be proud of him‘Cause after all, he’s just a…
The movie character Forrest Gump was not the most intelligent man in the world, but he always tried to do the right thing under trying circumstances. His phrase “stupid is as stupid does” is a little pejorative, so maybe a better phrase is, “judge someone by their actions, not by what they say or how…
The Automation of Delusion Social media can be used in purely benign, even positive ways. Sharing photos with our friends and relatives, joining community interest groups, and building businesses are almost always positive activities. However, our ever-evolving social media technologies can also afford us with an efficient method to join a cult, become addicted, or…
Delusion is Real Delusion is part of the human condition. Whether we admit it or not, we all misperceive, misconceive, or distort reality at some point or another. However, delusion can become a powerful tool for extremists of all political stripes. They can artfully delude themselves, delude others, or both. Those engaging in industrial-scale delusion…
Technology and Culture Many of us must believe that our current social media platforms are indispensable for discovering, interpreting, and understanding world events. These believers, particularly among our youngest citizens, trust that social media is the best way for them to stay informed about what is happening and to distinguish between truth and lies, as…
By 2003, the George W. Bush regime did the following: a) lowered taxes for his ultra-wealthy benefactors, b) loosened financial regulations to allow his ultra-wealthy benefactors to snooker millions of students, retirees, and wannabe homeowners and investors, c) blamed all the problems on Democrats, and d) started a war with IRAQ. In 2025, the Donald…
The facts have not been verified, but Vance Luther Boelter may be a religious extremist. Extremism can be an individual mental problem, but it can also be a cultural problem that some individuals can be very susceptible to. I read the early reports on him, and he seems to be a complex bundle of contradictions….