At left are the words of 18th Century French writer and philosopher Voltaire, one of our most beloved figures in history. Yet, to be honest, I’m confused by this one. In particular, what would it mean to “raise oneself above …
Category: Sustainability
The Meaning of the World Around Us
Good quote here from Chekhov. To the existentialist, this applies to the entire universe around us. Each of us must create our own meaning, whether that means being a child of God, leaving this world a better place than the …
Open Carry in Florida
Imagine you’re a young mom, shopping for groceries with your two little kids, and you see a man with an AR-15 strapped across his back. You recognize that this is the weapon of choice for the mass murders of schoolchildren, …
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Leaving Home In Europe
Before I decided to write a post of the map below, I read a few brief analyses by sociologists who talked about the different cultures and financial statuses, and political leanings of the various countries. I’m sure all this is …
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Chopin — Music that Inspires
There’s a story behind the piece below, Chopin’s “Heroic” Polonaise, performed by Vladimir Horowitz, the pianist most people deem Chopin’s pre-eminent interpreter. Frederic Chopin was born in 1810 near Warsaw, Poland, and was known as a child prodigy as a …
Does Evil “Destroy Itself?”
What Aristotle said here is interesting, especially since there has been so much of both evil and good through the millennia. The days since Aristotle have been marked by the Golden Age of Rome (Pax Romana), the Dark Ages, the …
Tagged with: Golden Age of Rome (Pax Romana), the Dark Ages, the end of slavery, The Enlightenment, the post-Emancipation oppression of Black Americans, the Rennaissance, the slaughter of the Native Americans, the Spanish Inquisition, Trump's only interests are enriching himself from public office, Trump's only interests are further consolidating his power, Trump's only interests are keeping himself out of prison, Trump's only interests are punishing his enemies
Another Note on Grammar
In an earlier post called Americans’ Grammar Is Deteriorating, But Let’s Keep Things in Perspective, I made the point that many of Americans’ grammatical errors have become normalized as our respect for our traditional English language has deteriorated, just like …
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Americans’ Dwindling Self-Awareness
I’m wondering if people’s growing lack of consideration for others is a regional trend here in the Unites States, or it’s one of global extent. I find it hard to believe, for instance, that the Japanese are suffering from this …
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Americans’ Grammar Is Deteriorating, But Let’s Keep Things in Perspective
The guy who wrote the meme here is referring to something called the subjunctive mood, used mainly to state a contrary-to-fact conditional. He’s not in LA, therefore we say, “If I were in LA,” not “If I was in LA.” …
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Comments on Word Usage in Modern Times
I just came across the rules at left, and thought I’d make a few comments: 1) The word “their” in the sentence “Each student (singular) should bring their (plural) book,” is a workaround for “Each student should bring his or …
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