The mind is like a medieval castle, and the yard behind its walls can never be penetrated from beyond by screaming hordes of peer-pressuring thoughts, unsubstantiated beliefs or generally bad ideas that were launched from the castle grounds of others. Primed, influenced, hit by a figurative arrow or two—sure. But an unsullied nullipara, the human … Continue reading Behind the Walls of ‘Why’
When reporting something in the news, there exists, to the journalist doing the reporting, both the benefit of hindsight and the ability, based on their research, to surmise where and to what end the topic may lead. Journalistic research not only yields context to both an audience and author, but a greater understanding of a … Continue reading The Single-Blindedness of Political Reporting
"You don't sell the steak, you still the sizzle." Of all the wise life lessons ever imparted to me, conveyed in the utterance of a single sentence, this particular phrase has been without a doubt the most everlasting....
Hi, how’s it going? Great, great to hear. Here—here’s a stack of reported, factual information. Just plopped it down on your desk. Go through it, please. Take your time, but be sure to go through all of it. Okay, fast forward ten, fifteen minutes. Need an hour? Sure. Take your time. Did you get through … Continue reading To What End?
Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his role as Speaker of the House of Representatives on October 2nd, 2023, through the filing of a motion to vacate by the one person everyone knew was going to file the motion because he was the strongest arm in implementing a new rule saying the Speaker could be … Continue reading You Can Choose Your Friends, But You Can’t Choose Your Lifeboat
At my first ever, week-long summer church camp (I was 11 and a practicing Lutheran), I and the token skater/heavy metal kid of the lot—who used a ballpoint pen to tattoo the letters O-Z-Z-Y on his knuckles once a day—were tasked with being in charge of setting up viewing of the afternoon’s film, a sort … Continue reading Nobody Knows History, Nobody Understands Context
People react to things. It’s a crucial part of how our central nervous systems function as living organisms. Burns, freezes, pain, possible further pain, possible death—humans are going to yank away their body parts or duck underneath something if suspect any harm will come to them, and possibly live longer as a result...
Fallacy of the hive mind – 1.) Inferring that someone who makes a comment which aligns with a consensus political opinion or movement on social media possesses the same deep, ingrained, singular, core principles or characteristics as that group or movement. 2.) Erroneously clumping people into a spuriously-named, demographically or sociologically unofficial group because they agree with, voice their opinion regarding or argue in favor of a consensus opinion which is temporarily influential, on social media or elsewhere.
Take a person. Make it you. Take you. Now, imagine you’ve made enough money to never work again in your life. A billion dollars, say. But say you don’t. That is, don’t never work again in your life. Because this is real life; because, practically, if you stop working, you won’t have your billion dollars … Continue reading Into the Mind of a Billionaire
The problem with politically aligning with either term, ‘right’ (conservative) or ‘left’ (liberal), is that, once aligned, no one has to actually come out and say what it is they really believe. All they do is check a box, push a button, and the organization takes care of the rest...
Pretend society is a house party. And you’re the bitter, little social scab sitting in the corner. You’re that person who sits at the end of the couch in the darkness, drinking your flat, tepid beer in that plastic red cup all by yourself, cursing in your head everyone who’s laughing and talking among themselves, having a good time...
What would happen to a vastly intertwined global economy, hypothetically speaking, if some imaginary figure sitting in the driver’s seat (a novel disease, in this case) suddenly, with the hall pass of a natural disaster or other act of God, began to gently and without wavering apply a braking force to it? ...