Author: Paul

(Originally published October 12, 2022.)

I prefer to focus on building the good rather than identifying the bad. But there is also a place for understanding what is happening in the world. (“Wise as serpents, innocent as doves.”) This piece, written by one of my friends, is serious, far-reaching analysis. It is especially important as we pivot into a different world than we’ve known. Retain whatever quibbles you like, but read this and understand it. Continue reading “The Inflection Point of Putin’s “Evil Empire” Speech”

We’ve all heard the slogan, “United we stand, divided we fall” hundreds of times. It is portrayed as wisdom, but in fact it’s generally false. If you require a mass of bodies to charge another mass of bodies on a battlefield, unity matters. But when you want honesty, intelligence, compassion, innovation and evolution, unity is your enemy.

Unity works for body-power, but it works against all the higher and better aspects of our nature. That’s why the sacrifice collectors preach unity: they want obedient bodies, not self-determinant minds. Continue reading “United We Fall”

Western civilization – the most effective major civilization in human history – has lost its mechanisms of transmission. And that’s a big problem. Civilizations are simply collections of humans who share certain ideas, and if those ideas are no longer passed down, the civilization breaks, degrades and vanishes.

Western civilization had specific and important virtues, like cooperation, initiative, creativity, curiosity, co-dominance, open inquiry and justice. If we lose them we stand in jeopardy, and our grandchildren stand in grave jeopardy. Continue reading “Transmitting Civilization Is Now Up To Us”

The statement I’ll be making today is simple… very simple. Nonetheless, I think it’s of tremendous importance. It’s the type of thing that, if kept sufficiently in mind, can revise your mental universe.

It’s the type of thing that makes me want to write, “Meditate on this at least once per day for several years.” This concept can not only revamp you, but could revamp humanity. 

So, here are those three words: Continue reading “Just Three Words”

Last week we examined the “social contract” in some depth, to see if it passes as a legal concept. This week we’ll examine two follow-up issues: one that I didn’t mention and one that I mentioned, but didn’t delve into.

And for those who missed last week’s post, we started by noting that the social contract is the concept that describes the origin of society and the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. It asserts that all of us have consented to surrender some of our rights to a ruling group, in exchange for the protection of our remaining rights. Continue reading “Follow-Up On The Social Contract”

The social contract is a description of “the origin of society and the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual.” The social contract asserts that all of us have consented to surrender some of our rights to a ruling group, in exchange for the protection of our remaining rights.

The question I’ll address today is whether this is a legitimate contract. Continue reading “Is The Social Contract Legit?”

Sadly, I keep hearing stories about people slashing at each other for “cultural appropriation.” I had hoped this issue would die on its own, but evidently it hasn’t. And so I think it’s worth a brief post.

Cultural appropriation refers to a sort of robbery: the stealing of something created by a member of one group, by a member of some other group. The most common example I’ve run into is when someone of a lighter skin tone quotes Martin Luther King, Jr., and is told that they’re not allowed to do that, because they’re stealing the words of a black man. Continue reading “Cultural Appropriation Is A Good And Necessary Thing”

Several years ago, an unusual set of events found me at Starbucks on a Saturday night. It had been a reasonably decent day, but somehow the pressures of the world – its parade of negativity – had had its effect on me.

Sitting in the Starbucks cured me. Continue reading “A Saturday Night In Starbucks”

It’s a massive waste of time and energy, not to mention seriously depressing, to turn on your computer in the morning and get slapped with the worst news that can be found. It is a blow to your overall health.

Veraverba.com, our sister site, is now an alternative. We are working up to a 365 day rotation of images and brief explanations of good, noble and uplifting things. It’s the right way for humans to begin their days. Continue reading “Start Your Days With Healthy Images”

People remember Thomas Jefferson mainly for the Declaration of Independence, which he wrote in 1776. Some remember that he served as president from 1801 to 1809, but aside from that, few know much more of his life and work. In fact, he lived and worked until 1826, when he died on July 4^th, fifty years to the day after the ratification of his Declaration.

What’s lost to history is that Jefferson was convinced Americans were losing their fight for freedom. Continue reading “Jefferson’s Warnings”