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Banned by TED
It is interesting how easy it is to get banned. In big language, we would say one only needs to question the dominant paradigm. In plain language, we’d say you just need to upset the apple cart. Another way to get banned is by speaking as if you are taking a “side” in a popular “debate” about a…
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How’s the Other Guy Doing?
In weak economic times, we often look at our neighbors to see how they are doing. It is natural. We all know somebody that has lost a job or is struggling to pay bills. My family has been in that boat for a while, timing bills, some of which we weren’t sure would get paid.…
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Why I Post Liberal Jesus Stuff on Facebook
I like sharing funny stuff on Facebook. In a way, that’s what it is for. I also share political stuff when it is meaningful. Last week, I posted a picture that isn’t very good and I was told so. See what I mean? It’s underlying theology is immature and it strikes the receiver as brazenly…
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Ideology, Not Sense or Wisdom
When I wrote the other day about a lack of wisdom, I wasn’t prepared for an even more stunning thesis: that ideology would trump both common sense and wisdom. I had taken for granted that common sense was often used to support the governing ideology. In the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to uphold the already…
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Further Proof of the Spoon
In this great comment on Forbes (of all places), The Dark Secret of Meritocracy: Reality is Rigged, Karl Smith speaks to hidden costs and the world it creates. His argument? Cheaters may almost never win but, given equal opportunity and a large enough competition, the winners are almost always cheaters. What does this make of cheating?…
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Not the Root of Conflict; the Stalk
Conflict is our great paradox. We love peace and yet more easily create war. We long to be loved and thrive on defiling others. We can see the problems of conflict in our lives. We know that conflict is not our way. We also know that the roots of conflict arise from our fear of…
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Democracy Thrives on Immediacy
One of our oldest sayings is “time heals all wounds”. That regardless of what has happened, a scab will form eventually. Of course, we have misguided expectations. We hear the word heal and we assume all will go back to normal. But there is no “normal”. There is progress and there is stasis, but no normal.…
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Ideologies Do Not Win
I hate to lose. I know you hate to lose. Losing sucks. When our surrogates lose, we feel like we lose. When our surrogates win, we feel like we’ve won. And we make a dangerous decision about these wins and losses: that it is ideologies that win and lose on election day. It couldn’t be…