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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

19th Century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer certainly never won the “Mr. Popularity” prize for his dismal perspectives on human life.  He’s probably best known for his views that intelligent people can never be happy, and that, in fact, the smarter a person is, the harder he needs to struggle to have friends and fit into the world around him.

At left, he says something that reminds us of my earlier post in which I suggested that people who our proud to be Americans, because of the accidental fact that they were born here and not Japan or Egypt, are not too bright.

IMO, we all have something important to learn from Schopenhauer, but I’m glad he wasn’t my father.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

America, with its childish response to immigrants, as shown at left, stands in stark contrast to Switzerland, one of the most sophisticated and highly developed countries on Earth.

Switzerland features: Fabulous education, incredible, urbane culture, and a standard of living close to the very top of the world rankings.

Pertinent to this post, they have four official languages–French mostly spoken in the west, German in the north, Italian in the south, and Romansh, a variety of Latin, in the east.  The truth, however, is that no one could possibly care what language you speak.  If you want to speak Mandarin or Bulgarian, you’ll have trouble communicating with others, but that’s your problem.

The United States features: A considerable level of affluence, but entire regions that are drowning in poverty, ignorance, racial hatred, fanatical Christianity, lousy public education that gets worse with each passing year, and people who seem to have nothing better to do than heap even more pain on some of the world’s most miserable people.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

To answer the question posed at left:

America at one time had moral standards, but we’ve abandoned them.

Now, it’s about the essential principles of MAGA: white nationalism, the rejection of science, and the repudiation of “wokeism.”

It’s a disgusting period in our history — one from which we’re very unlikely to fully recover.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Schoolchildren all around most of the country, and all over the world, are taught (roughly) the truth about U.S. history.  Alabama is one of few outliers.

There, children are taught that blacks and whites have, and have always had, equal rights, and equal protection under the law.

Educator Jonathan Kozol, who recently celebrated his 89th birthday, 67 years after graduating from Harvard summa cum laude, taught young white and black children in the Boston public school system, and wrote an essay in which he posed the question: Why do the parents of black kids not trust white teachers?

Answering his own question, he went on:  Did white teachers  protest against the use of the racist Scott Foresman elementary school textbooks that taught that “though slavery did exist, most slave owners treated their slaves kindly,” and made numerous other remarks that suggested that the North and South had equal rights to determine whether or not slavery was valid, and should be allowed to exist into perpetuity.

As to the trust issue, he concluded: “It’s simply because we are not worthy of their trust.” 

Here’s a suggestion for Kay Ivey, the governor of the most backward state in the union: Tell the truth.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

There are 2.86 million U.S. military personnel.  How many are transgender?  Although no one really knows, it’s a minute fraction, perhaps like the percentage of left-handed redheads over seven feet tall with Mensa-level IQs.

Does any rational person really believe that the presence of transgenders in our armed forces puts our national security at risk?

Obviously, banning transgenders from the military appeals to idiots.  Perhaps that’s all that needs to be said here.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

From Newsweek:

The Ohio House passed a bill named after the slain conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, which allows public schoolteachers to teach about the “positive impact of religion on American history,” particularly Christianity. The “Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act,” also known as House Bill 486, was passed by Ohio’s House 62-27 on November 19, with all Republicans voting for and all Democrats voting against.

Well, here’s yet another law that flies into the teeth of the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

Having said that, few people would object to a public school’s offering:

  • An elective on the “positive impact of Christianity on American history,” or
  • A course that objectively examines the pros and cons of religion on human civilization.

Obviously, that won’t satisfy the Christians in this deeply red state.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

To say, for instance, that there are no transexuals, is akin to saying that there are no rabbits. It’s provably incorrect.

We live in a world that features war, starvation, and environmental collapse.  Do we really need to spend our time on trivial matters like this?

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Wise people have been making this observation all throughout history, going back at least as far as the Ancient Greeks.

And this, from modernity: “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” – Jimi Hendrix

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Native American tribes are known for their decision-making that contemplates the best outcomes for those who will come seven generations down the line.  This, btw, is the very definition of “sustainability.”

Of course, that never could have a reality in a white-dominated capitalist society. But life in the United States didn’t really go off the rails until fairly recently, when big money got into politics, and corruption took over.

Now, 60% of American families are living paycheck-to-paycheck and the planet is on fire.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I doubt Trump will be the U.S. president three years from now, but I also doubt that dementia will be the cause for his removal from office.  That’s because, though he’s most certainly criminally insane, his symptoms of senility aren’t growing too fast, if at all, as far as most of us can discern.

He’s just as good at playing his base of hateful idiots now (probably better) as he was years ago.

His problem now is that he’s pushed his demand for absolute control so far as to alienate all but the most extreme fascists in the Republican party.  His power is buckling, soon to break.

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