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 4th, 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”
This line, which I’m swiping from Izzy Rabi’s mom, would be a good thing to write on billboards and bumper stickers, as persistent reminders that we should all ask something interesting every day.
Notice that I’m not saying “Ask the hard questions,” or “ask a smart question,” only that we each ask an interesting question each day. If we did, I think we’d be much improved creatures after only a few years. Continue reading “Have You Asked An Interesting Question Today?”
If you want millions of dollars thrown at you, find a way to suck a new part of people’s lives from the world of atoms to the world of data. If you can do that, your odds are good.
This is a very large problem.
Humans have long been, and remain, deeply attached to morality. Even confirmed criminals will say things like “That ain’t right,” which is purely a moral judgment. And this focus on morality holds across the panorama of human of life. Examine any workplace and you’ll find a long stream of moral judgments: “He didn’t treat me right,” “She’s arrogant,” “That’s a man you can respect,” and so on.
This moral obsession of ours is a good thing; it’s the bedrock that allows us to enjoy a civilized existence. That said, we’ve allowed our moral energies to be wasted, and that’s something we need to fix. Continue reading “The Dispersion of Our Moral Energies”
Your responses to my request for family-friendly entertainment were overwhelming. Thank you all.
At first I intended on vetting the list and commenting on the various titles, but there were far too many. And so, you’ll have to look into these yourselves prior to viewing. Imdb.com seems to be a useful resource for that. I’ve also appended a useful comment at the end.
Here’s the list, in no particular order: Continue reading “A List of Family Entertainment”
Young men get a bad rap, both in modern narratives and in assumptions that portray them as the aberrant sex. Neither sex is normative, of course; humans come in two basic varieties, and both are equally necessary.
My personal experience with young men ran counter to the narrative and assumptions, and I think it’s time that the boys of the West should be defended. Most of them are good kids, and they deserve to be seen that way… to be portrayed that way. Continue reading “A Defense of Young Men”
