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”…
The New York Times reported this morning that major corporations have announced that they are phasing out the “Hero Pay,” the $2.00 to $3.00 per hour raise offered to employees volunteering to work during the covid-19 stay-at-home orders. The NYT referenced a Los Angeles Times article which you may read in full CLICK HERE I…
I visited the Fox River this morning. After several days of prolonged heavy rain, the river overflowing its banks, roared over the dam, a maelstrom of froth and brown waves. The sound was indescribable. Like you I prefer to think of Nature as benevolent, hospitable, leaning in my direction with good will. Another image…
A friend sent me this graphic picturing the various modes that culture takes. We use the term ‘culture’ in many ways. The diverse uses indicates how important this aspect of our lives in fact happens to be. Here are a few examples of culture that come to mind from my own experience. Certainly you…
A few days ago, while preparing to sit down for the evening meal, I had thoughts about culture. What is culture, and how is culture created? Culture is not an aspect of Nature. We never expect to come upon culture in the wild. We find instinct prolific. Animals instinctively fight or flee when feeling…
Nature silently calls to us, always. Refreshment of mind is offered, a reorientation of spirit without charge, ours if we attend to the world of growing things, and animals that live around us, birds flying and singing, or the mouse living in a decaying stump. These living things are our contemporaries, yet their generations…
