Losing the Capacity to Think
I actually recall seeing this in my local grocery store. If you’re over 40 years old, you might too.
What a tragedy has befallen us.
Tagged with: Capacity to Think
It’s Complicated
I wish I had a dollar for every conversation I’ve had in which I pointed out that “I think it’s a bit more complicated than that.”
IMO, a vital part of wokeness is the realization that the world around us is not black and white.
If you take a minute and examine any of the issues that plague us as a nation, you’ll see this very concept at play.
Here’s an example: illegal immigration. If you’re a Trump supporter, you may believe that the cause is that Biden is part of the “radical left” and has “opened our borders.”
If you’re able to actually think, however, you’re able to consider the socio-economic conditions that are causing this problem, what the United States can and cannot do vis-a-vis international law, what these people are doing once they get here, who in politics and Congress impedes our finding a solution, etc.
Tagged with: illegal immigration
Planting Trees
There is no law that says we can’t plant trees in the most arid conditions on the planet, if we spend enough time and money to get seedlings safely in the ground and prevent them from perishing from dehydration under the heat of the sun. Linked above is a system that promises to do precisely this.
According to these folks, for each infant tree to be planted, we need to a) dig a pit the volume of a few basketballs, b) insert a round piece of fabricated cardboard the size of a huge bundt cake pan (see screen shot), c) insert a device that blocks most incoming sunlight and protects against hungry birds, d) pour in 25 liters of water, e) place a cover on top to slow its evaporation of water, and f) hope, without evidence, that most of these trees take root.
Again, there is no rule preventing our doing this, if we don’t have a problem paying hundreds of dollars for each of the billions of new trees we’ll need to absorb the huge levels of CO2 we’re emitting.
Yet maybe we should think about this for a moment. All that’s required to regrow forests, (“aforestation,” the opposite of “deforestation”) in every temperature zone other than the “frigid” and the “desert,” 80+% of the Earth’s land mass, is that we show some modest level of environmental responsibility. Trees grow like weeds in these regions if we can simply stop our greediest corporations in their quest to ravage our planet in search of profit dollars.
The United States now has 4% of the trees that were here when the Europeans arrived. The Amazon rainforest is losing the area of a championship golf course every 15 minutes.
It just needs to cease.
Tagged with: planting trees
Florida Can’t Get Enough of Ron DeSantis, and Nazi Values Might Not End There
There is very little that could be called an “American value” that hasn’t already been banned, or is on its way out, in Florida.
And DeSantis is popular beyond belief. He could become the next U.S. president, taking his Nazi ideals on the road, visiting them upon the other 49 states.
Learning About Life from Trump
This guy has a point.
Donald Trump’s life, ever since he was a young man, has been one of exploiting others, taking advantage of people’s seemingly endless credulity.
Though I don’t recommend it, life as a serial predator works for some, maybe those with the wisdom not to cross the biggest, fattest line there is in the United States, i.e., committing treason.
At this point, Trump’s toast.
Tagged with: Trump committing treason
Terrorizing Children
I know I’ve commented on this meme before, but I forgot to mention something important.
This woman’s students not only live in constant fear of corporal punishment, but they are also terrorized by the threat of eternal torture in hell if they are disobedient in this lifetime.
If I were king of the world, I’d make this garbage illegal. Want to worship the Holy Trinity? Fine. Want to abuse children? Not in my kingdom.
Tagged with: Terrorizing Children
A Certain Stupidity Is “in Fashion”
Early 20th Century Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset made this remark about “a stupidity that is in fashion,” implying that different elements of stupidity are fads, like bell-bottom jeans or (we hope) rap music.
And that does make sense, when we think about it. What the United States is going through right now in terms of Trumpism, for instance, really can’t last forever. The white supremacy, the rejection of science, the indifference to the suffering of others, and the cult-like reverence for an orange-haired criminal conman–none of it is sustainable if the U.S. is to remain a prominent world power.
Spreading Ignorance
Yesterday, a reader whom I know personally sent out a mass email featuring a video full of false and misleading information designed to show that renewable energy is actually worse for the environment than burning fossil fuels. He prefaced the piece, “I can’t attest to the accuracy of this, but it is interesting.”
Yes, it’s “interesting,” but if you can’t attest to its accuracy, why on God’s green Earth would you distribute it?
This is complete anti-science propaganda, and Prager “University” is simply a hotbed of ultra-right-wing lies.
You’re a man of honor. I’ve always respected that about you.
Staying True to One’s Ideals
At left is a quote from a figure in one of the pop religions born in the 20th Century.
It may make sense on first inspection, but let’s think about it for a moment. Shouldn’t one’s ideals be subject to change as he matures and encounters new information?
Let’s take an example.
A former friend of my son believes in white supremacy, unlimited gun rights, that the pandemic was planned and put into place by the U.S. government, and dozens of other equally unsupported ideas. In his teen years, he dropped out of school. Wouldn’t it be nice if he were to wake up one day and jettison this entire line of thought?
Maybe he could recognize that signing up to be a lifelong moron wasn’t such a great idea. He could now join the ranks of people who can actually think. Not such a bad bargain, is it?
Tagged with: white supremacy
How Did Our Support for Trump Go So Wrong?
The point here is that Trump supporters are about to go down in abject failure. I doubt it.
As my mom pointed out to me in our phone call last night, bringing criminal charges against him will usher in his martyrdom.
The United States has an incredible appetite for this type of hate and stupidity, and it’s not just going to vanish, regardless of what happens in Trump’s upcoming criminal prosecution.
Tagged with: Support for Trump
