First Blog

  Suppose a new concept, edict, or law comes your way. In simplified terms, you have four options,  rejection, acceptance, understanding,  and  belief . The “pusher” to anyone of these is your degree of doubt. Total doubt leads to rejection, while absolutely no doubt (or certainty) leads to belief. I’m not convinced the latter is absurd as claimed by Voltaire, as total belief a necessary state for the creation of or proof of new ideas. Others prefer to understand or at least try to understand the condition at hand. This illustrates partial doubt but a measure of conviction necessary for understanding. Finally, a state of resident doubt but required compliance leads us to acceptance. For example, in your work you may accept some rules of the employers but neither believe nor understand them. In politics, you will see much belief and rejection but little understanding. Many simply accept what is promoted.

 In the cemetery of blunders and mistakes grows the garden of all our knowledge. LEARNING IN LIFE.  Do you want to learn?  Do you want to achieve?  Do you want to know?  Go to school, say the educators. Sometimes schools feed information and learning; sometimes schools teach how to learn. The how is what you need, and these are the most important ways to learn.         First, we learn from reading books or being taught in the classroom. We learn by solving given problems. Practice and repetition, this is the role and scope of all school teaching. Occasionally, inspiration occurs.           Second, we learn from examples and experience. Seeing many examples, some working and some not, and knowing why helps. These build our knowledge and intuition of reality.  Knowledge is a pathway to solving problems, while intuition provides a pathway to innovation.  More simply, we learn by doing.   Attending the school of hard knocks  is an expression of

Biggest Existential Threats . Every day our leaders warn us, scare us, and threaten us about existential threats. These hint at caution: “Do something now or we will cease to exist.”  What are they? For politicians: anything that will scare you into voting for them. For scientists: anything they believe may be risky. For religions: anything disabusing the scriptures. For the people: anything they believe to be dangerous in at the moment. There is much theory involved, projections into many decades ahead, life-style changes, political expediency, and more. Politicians love these things as they generate huge campaign war chests. Here’s the shortlist. Climate change – includes global warming, changing animal habitats, enlarged deserts, increased carbon dioxide, eventual degradation of livable area, an increase of disease, rising temperatures, arctic melting, etc. Recall, in the 70s, it was all about global cooling. Pandemics – usually highly contagious diseases spread by crowding and/or

With billions of toilet paper rolls hoarded from last year and millions of gallons of gasoline hoarded this year, activists have announced their latest "peaceful protest" weapon of the future.  Recipe: Take a roll of toilet paper soaked in a quart of gasoline. Wrap tightly in foil wrap with toilet paper fuse on the surface. Light and hurl. Burns for hours*.   Call it the Molotov Bathroom Cocktail.  With both gasoline and toilet paper organic, it becomes the Green solution to enlightened change. *Burn time is extended using an oil-gasoline mixture, but this is unacceptable to Green New Deal advocates.

  Abraham Lincoln, if truth be known, was not a religious man, but he did understand prayer. Partly, he viewed prayer as deep introspection, without the external pressures of life, seeking wisdom and calmness to carry on. In managing a deadly war, Lincoln needed internal guideposts to carry on. Many personalize this through a Divine spirit, and this helps with understanding, gives reverence, and connects to others. It helps cut through the impossible to possibility. Anyway, even the most devout atheist needs prayer, if only to give reverence to life, to elevate life above a chemical jungle of automatic process. Prayer has great merit and should be practiced by all.

In all of human history, cultural diversity has never been prized or practiced. Rather, cultural inclusiveness has been the rule. Suddenly, this has changed. Why? Because most people are more comfortable with their own kind - even those on the outside of the inside. This may be sad, but it is true.

 

  You should not fall on your sword for an issue you do not completely understand. We truly hope ·         You never heard of someone who died for a page of talking points. ·         You never heard of someone who went to the limit based on what a friend said. ·         You never heard of someone who gave all for a rumor. ·         You never heard of someone seeking the guru on high to ask about how the whales are doing. ·         You never heard of someone donating their fortune for a cause they merely think is good. Socrates* tells us to “Know thy self.” Let’s generalize words from this wisest of men to “Know thy issues, and know them well. Then commit.” *This aphorism is attributed to several ancients. Possibly, it was a common expression, even more ancient than the even the ancients.

  Is it not remarkable that this country that has spent the last few generations teaching all students to feel good about themselves, issuing participation trophies to every child, assuring every child is intellectual, and giving increasingly high grades, has abruptly turned on itself, telling all they are racist, greedy, and otherwise evil? Do the activists expect a participation trophy, or to be praised with certainty they are good? You know, condemning another as bad enhances you as good.

 Thought for the day.