Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Fine Distinctions and Restless Minds
Ron Reagan Jr and I have remarkably similar politics. During the last election cycle he liked Bernie Sanders and he detested Donald Trump (Youtube video below). Though he did not consider Hillary Clinton his ideal choice, he found Trump completely unacceptable. I say all this because politics does sometimes make strange bedfellows. For example, the ad at the beginning of this blog featuring Ron is something that I could never do because I simply do not think it possible to separate religion from politics. (Indeed, church and state as institutions retain a certain distinct conceptual tidiness… but such careful niceties are profoundly absent from everyday experiential consciousness.) I would even go so far as to say that Ron’s ultimate objection to Donald Trump is largely religious and spiritual. I remember St. Paul’s saying that when he became a man he put away childish ways of thinking. He matured crucially by developing an appreciation for the spiritual undertows that can wipe-out mankind in an instant--especially those treacherous ones precipitated by hubris. The Great Dictators always seem to want to raise monuments to themselves totally ignorant of the fact that the very towers they build render naked their self-involved and prurient romanticism. They are very much like the false prophets of old--a very proud bunch on the whole. They fancied their warped, self-serving and immature romanticism to be spiritual inspiration. Have not we observed that authentic creativity is correlated with humility and genuine inclusiveness while the spiritually bankrupt strut about, demean, and exclude?
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Saturday, February 25, 2017
An Interlude Speculating Upon The Hazards of Skepticism
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4 (NIV)
Where the top of the pyramid should be, the Eye of Providence watches over it. Two mottos appear: Annuit cœptis signifies that Providence has "approved of (our) undertakings." Novus ordo seclorum, freely taken from Virgil, is Latin for "a new order of the ages." The reverse has never been cut (as a seal) but appears, for example, on the back of the one-dollar bill. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Seal_of_the_United_States)
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Where the top of the pyramid should be, the Eye of Providence watches over it. Two mottos appear: Annuit cœptis signifies that Providence has "approved of (our) undertakings." Novus ordo seclorum, freely taken from Virgil, is Latin for "a new order of the ages." The reverse has never been cut (as a seal) but appears, for example, on the back of the one-dollar bill. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Seal_of_the_United_States)
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Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Me Thought the Voice of Angels
Angels have no ideology but love.
Keep up the good work.
All who love the U.S. Constitution Appreciate you!
(Above quote modification of "Angels have no philosophy but love." -- by Terri Guillemets)
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Sunday, February 12, 2017
Fuehrer vs Leader: More than a Subtle Difference
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in….
-Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (Saturday, March 4, 1865)
Abraham Lincoln in his Second Inaugural sought to heal a nation. He spoke with humility and grace as it is true that judgmental haughtiness undercuts reconciliation. Arrogant encyclicals and profane absolutism that treat man as a tyrant's toy and would usurp the role of God and conscience paint history red.
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Thursday, February 9, 2017
Daddy or Sugardaddy
Matthew 7:7-12 (NIV)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
It is my belief the conservatives are quite right when they insist that it is not the proper role of government to play sugardaddy. I mean by this when persons, groups, organizations, or nations forfeit their own identity and integrity to suck up and play toady to government or government officials in return for insidiously addictive shots of smack . Inevitably such seedy prostitution becomes reciprocal and is soon mirrored within government itself.
Does this imply that good government is a hampered one bereft of all functions except the bare essentials of governance (sparse and inadequate legislation, pro forma execution, and impoverished police power). Absolutely not. Strong government moves with a nimble and skillful hand and its nurturing of a nation brings freedom, health and growth. This all takes resources and insight--but resources and insight bent on health and growth…not the stunting of it. Warning--if it begins to feel like your government is dealing with a heavy hand, look for track marks (and look upon yourself as well).
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“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
It is my belief the conservatives are quite right when they insist that it is not the proper role of government to play sugardaddy. I mean by this when persons, groups, organizations, or nations forfeit their own identity and integrity to suck up and play toady to government or government officials in return for insidiously addictive shots of smack . Inevitably such seedy prostitution becomes reciprocal and is soon mirrored within government itself.
Does this imply that good government is a hampered one bereft of all functions except the bare essentials of governance (sparse and inadequate legislation, pro forma execution, and impoverished police power). Absolutely not. Strong government moves with a nimble and skillful hand and its nurturing of a nation brings freedom, health and growth. This all takes resources and insight--but resources and insight bent on health and growth…not the stunting of it. Warning--if it begins to feel like your government is dealing with a heavy hand, look for track marks (and look upon yourself as well).
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Tuesday, February 7, 2017
I Can’t Help but Love Republicans for Their Hearts of Gold
from Basic Principles of Speech 3rd ed, p 74 Lew Sarett,W.F. Foster, Alma Sarett (1958) |
The Republican Party has consistently been strong on defense and for eternally mustering an overflowing arsenal. As a Democrat I have always wondered what this seems to imply about us Democrats. Does it suggest that we want a weak and inadequate military certain to fail in conflict and needlessly wreaking havoc upon the lives of our troops--a deplorably odious rendition of treason.
I think it is fair to say that both parties are concerned with relationship in human affairs. But Republicans have a pronounced suspicion that relationship can connote weakness and vulnerability in affairs both domestic and foreign. It as if to say to all wishing to establish closer ties with the US Government, don’t expect us to be romantically silly…and most of all, NEVER expect us to play the role of sugardaddy. Such a role would inevitably end up demeaning us all.
You may demur that military weapons have no direct relation to a broader perceptual telegraphing of toughness. I hold this to be flatly untrue as is indicated by the conservative’s insistence on an individual’s right to bear firearms. When a father seeks to signify to his unruly son that he is no pushover, a stash of weapons in the back corner can do wonders to clarify perception and straighten up attitude.
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Wednesday, February 1, 2017
The Secret Sauce of Spiritual Freedom
"The luckiest person ever born in the history of the world is the baby being born in America today. We have the secret sauce, and it unleashes human potential like no system has ever unleashed it in history." --Warren Buffett
(Source)
The American Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. This is the most gracious and essential aspect of the Constitution. For it recognizes that there is holy ground within each individual that must not be violated--even by the chief governing body. This insight that the spiritual nature of man is and must be ultimately forever beyond state control and--through wide institutional replication--generally applied is the secret sauce of America. Structurally it helps contain the most pernicious of all human reflexes--the fundamental attribution error. This emancipation from the domination of negative self-righteous absolutism unleashes true brotherhood, creativity, and happiness that is flat-out Providential in its overflowing generosity. It is the purest expression of love and nurture. Never for a moment conclude that competition is the engine of abundance. That conceit holds that the tail wags the dog--a totally fallacious notion.
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(Source)
The American Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. This is the most gracious and essential aspect of the Constitution. For it recognizes that there is holy ground within each individual that must not be violated--even by the chief governing body. This insight that the spiritual nature of man is and must be ultimately forever beyond state control and--through wide institutional replication--generally applied is the secret sauce of America. Structurally it helps contain the most pernicious of all human reflexes--the fundamental attribution error. This emancipation from the domination of negative self-righteous absolutism unleashes true brotherhood, creativity, and happiness that is flat-out Providential in its overflowing generosity. It is the purest expression of love and nurture. Never for a moment conclude that competition is the engine of abundance. That conceit holds that the tail wags the dog--a totally fallacious notion.
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