At our last philosophy discussion session I was asked a question that I did not immediately answer. The question posed was did I not think that tribalism would always be with us? We’ve discussed tribalism within our group often, and for many months, years even. The term stands for the defensive posture, the ethnocentrism,…
Sunday morning at Starbucks. I have the seating area to myself, reggae music over the PA. I am in recovery. I sat through the movie Dunkirk yesterday. Seated before the enormous IMAX screen I knew viewing the film would be a most unpleasant experience. I enjoy movies usually, and find even the poorly made…
We attended the Independence Day parade in Wheaton for the second year. Its an old fashioned “people’s parade” with many volunteer organizations, businesses, civic groups, churches, and of course government officials making up the procession. The event lasts for at least an hour. Main street Wheaton is a long, broad, straight road stretching for…
I received an email from a friend this morning. The email was a request for a emergency response of sorts. I was urged to email my legislative Representative in Springfield to register my desire that he vote “no” today on a Bill that entails a 5 billion in tax hike. A take hike of…
Torrential rains last night. The weather forecast maps displayed a line of thunder storms portending heavy rain, two to five inches, to fall within the span of a few hours. Persons living near creeks and rivers were warned of flooding. My parents generation did not have this precision of weather forecasting, nor did they…
I do not feel sadness for Kurt. Kurt lived, and passed on as do all living things. Even the non-living suffer the effects of time. It takes much longer for a mountain to reach the sea, but eventually it does. Why are we here? I do not know. I am sure that as long…
Two stories are better than just one, right? We all love stories. Stories require imagination, the mind supplies the “sense” of living within the Reality of the story. Story no. 1 is a story of us, we who live in the early years of the 21st century. The words are taken from Paul Virilio’s…
I finished the collection of paragraphs contributed by Philosophy Now magazine readers on the subject of Metaphysics. Metaphysics entails thinking about the nature of the Real. I capitalize Real, because with just a little thought, one recognizes the similarity between “the Real” and the term God. Language is our failing attempt to point at…
I finished putting in the garden. What remains is watering, hoeing weeds as necessary, and waiting for harvest. Like raising a child once the basics are taken care of by labor, sometimes hard labor, it is best to observe with care the development of those for which one is responsible. Too much intervention, ill…
I took a walk in town around midday. Mother nature was in her fecund glory. I saw the Poppy blossoms from a distance. Red is an arresting color. These three or four Poppy blossoms were blazing with radiance on the side of a dreary street. Most of the rental spaces for small businesses are…
