A note on posted dates...

If it appears that some content is dated, that's because it is.  I have had to rebuild this site, due to unrecoverable errors while updating.   Given issues with time background being an important factor, I have decided to move them to a menu at the end of the opening page.  I have edited some to reflect the history and to update links.

Independence Day, July 4, 1776

Submitted by frlarry on

Every July 4th we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a document declaring and justifying the decision of the signers to lead the states into independence from Great Britain and its ruler at that time, King George III. There were many problems that led to that separation, including...

Economic and social chaos, disease, war, and the god complex

Submitted by frlarry on
Chaos is as much a feature of life in this universe as sin and death. In our fear of chaos, our reactions can often be counterproductive. Many ancient peoples even sacrificed their children to appease their "gods" because of this fear. The ancient Israelites demanded to be ruled by kings because of this fear. Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler and Mao Zedong invoked this fear in ascending to their dictatorships, even turning that fear into genocidal purges. Wisdom is required to get through periods of chaos without exacerbating it, but where does that wisdom come from?

From tinkering to “nevers” to chaos...

Submitted by frlarry on

The title of this reflection is, in part, inspired by what Wikipedia refers to as "a feat of smooth and ruthless efficiency", the historic "double play" action of infield basemen of the 1906-1910 Chicago Cubs that also inspired a short poem, entitled "Baseball's Sad Lexicon," also known as "Tinker to Evers to Chance", by Franklin P. Adams 1 .

The tendency to worship "experts" and where it leads the common man

Submitted by frlarry on

It may have already dawned on you that Tony Fauci is (or at least, was) worshipped by millions of American TV viewers. He sounded so reasonable and so authoritative, who could be blamed for falling under his spell?

He's not the only member of this "human pantheon", yet his pronouncements have been more public.

From Trump to Biden

Submitted by frlarry on

President Trump came along at a time in our history when we were going down an ideological rabbit hole. He’s given us time to think about where that hole leads to. It remains to be seen whether we can recognize our collective folly in time. Of course, it didn't help that the mainstream media largely blinded half the country to the differences.

Human civilization is very different, today, from what it was thousands of years ago. Technology has given totalitarian governments awesome powers.

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