Anyone looking for a little inspiration may find it in this work from Joan Baez calling for justice for Iranian women. Brings tears to my eyes.
Based on the lives of many artists, of which Baez is just one, those who think artists don’t matter in the trajectory of our society should reconsider their positions.
At a conference on sustainability a few years ago I learned that, on average, a cordless drill is used for nine minutes between the time it comes off the shelf at the hardware store until finds its way into a landfill.
That’s just sickening. Especially so, when we consider how easy it is to slow down the wasteful consumption of our physical resources by offering all manner of consumer items in a library setting.
Here’s a good example of the appeal to hatred and indifference to human suffering that lies at the very core of the Republican Party platform.
Re: the piece at left, a reader notes: I love your optimism “should end his career” but … I would imagine such a suggestion is exactly the “solution” the “conservatives” have up their sleeve.
Exactly. Bitter and hateful statements always ended political careers …until they became the way the GOP conducts itself and appeals to its base of hateful, misogynistic idiots.
Here’s something to look forward to.
Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor from 161 to 180 CE, was an adherent of the Stoic philosophy, which I would summarize as valuing our limited time of Earth, and making ourselves the best people possible by focusing on long-term virtues rather than short-term pleasure.
What he wrote here couldn’t apply more directly to current-day American society. We seem to have lost our minds when it comes to virtues like compassion for others, reason, justice, and, above all, long-term sustainability.
I’m not sure this is true, but it must suck being married to one of the country’s most revolting people.
The author of the meme here nailed it.
American libraries, obviously, are the product of Benjamin Franklin, one of the most broadminded leaders in our nation’s history. Those who stand for critical thinking and human creativity tend to favor the broadest possible distribution of books–even the controversial ones.
Where we are today is shameful. We ban books that call upon us to question authority or examine the true nature of our country. We criticize people of compassion and reason as “woke.”
And let’s not forget that all of this garbage has horrific consequences. Almost half of our voters favor the re-election of a criminal conman as the President of the United States.
I can’t imagine Freud really said this.
Obviously, I can’t read others’ thoughts, but it strikes me that people who behave with compassion and reason are less likely to have “demons” inside than those who are overtly irrational and mean.
There is no doubt that humankind is the beneficiary of a great many breakthroughs in technology – that applies to medicine, IT, communications, and yes, environmental sustainability.
In an interview I conducted for my third book “Renewable Energy – Following the Money” the spokesperson for the libertarian CATO Institute told me that this is the principal reason that we needn’t concern ourselves with global warming, in other words that, by the time it’s a real problem, it will be solved by new ways to generate electricity and transport ourselves and our possessions.
I countered that hoping for a miracle doesn’t sound like a viable strategy, especially when the stakes are so high. We didn’t beat Hitler in WWII with hopes and prayers; we did it with rifles and bombs.
