I am tired of writing about the bully that we’ve installed in the White House. It’s only by means of words that his dissimulation can be revealed to be darkness, a grim future which his lies hold for all of us. I’ll continue to have my say until he and his supporters are out…
How about a fist in the face! A friend recently relayed the story of a family member who works in retail. The point of his tale was the cascade of anti-social, loutish behavior suffered by a seasoned retail employee dedicated to helping customers, that was told to him. The disconcerting behavior took place during…
Today June 4th is the anniversary of the uprising of students in Tiananmen Square, China. The resistance to authoritarian incompetency, suppression of freedom took place April 15 – June 4th, 1989. Everyone remembers the image of the solitary individual standing, one man obstructing a column of tanks. Did the uprising matter? Did it make…
There are appeals for peaceful demonstration, the peaceful exercise of free speech. These appeals predictably come from elected officials, those placed in charge. They are in charge of a formal system, — as well as approaches, attitudes, and comments informally expressed by thousands, perhaps millions of members. Hypothetically consider an HR administrator, or maybe…
The rioting continues, despite the efforts of governors to use police and national guard to protect property, and to minimize the use of force against those who are protesting systemic racism, and particularly the disproportionate killing of black people by police. At the national level, the President rages like a mad emperor. Subsequent to…
Choosing to refrain from news media consumption over the weekend, I dedicated time and emotional energy to personal projects and to others in my family. Can I afford this type of choice because I am white, male, a member of the dominant class in this society? Are some Sunday afternoon hours reading Nietzsche by…
Yesterday was Memorial Day. I read of several remembrance ceremonies for our veterans, and for those who died in wars. I is hard to conceive of dying in war as hallowed, an event with transcendent meaning. War is a nightmare, a feast of death, the failure of government to deliver the welfare of communities,…
Today, Memorial Day, I woke at 3AM. Couldn’t sleep. For a diabetic, high blood sugar sometimes has that effect. I decided to make use of the circumstance by getting dressed in order to read more in Simulacra and Simulation bv Jean Baudrillard. Baudrillard’s thought is revolutionary, reminding me of the effort required to learn…
I joined a wide ranging philosophy discussion last night. The topic for the evening was the ethical implications of the covid-19 plague. One of our participants remarked that in his experience a majority of his fellow acquaintances rarely paused to consider ethical matters. Most of us live unmindfully, engaging circumstances to maximize our pleasure,…
Another day of self quarantine. The constraints are practical as well as psychological. I share with every American the growing sensation of rebellion. Overarching all — certainty that our leaders are confused, disingenuous, indolent, and most demoralizing, — bereft of good taste. Good taste. I refer to the sensibility of judgment wherein one “knows”…
