On Why We Dream

“I am apt to think that the wisest men dream the most inconsistently. For as the judgment has nothing or very little to do in regulating the circumstances of a dream, it necessarily follows that the more powerful and creative the imagination is, the wilder it runs in that state of unrestrained invention; while those who are unable to wander out of the track of common thinking when awake, never exceed the boundaries of common nature when asleep.”

A mysterious, yet essential, aspect of life; whose meaning is at all times open to the widest interpretation.

We dream to allow the inner life free reign to explore the world, unfettered by the constraints of the physical world. It is the imagination at play.

And it is those that allow for a playful imagination that will probably save the world.

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On Learning and Living

“Every person of learning is finally his own teacher, the reason of which is that principles, being a distinct quality to circumstances, cannot be impressed upon the memory; their place of mental residence is the understanding and they are never so lasting as when they begin by conception.”

Others can only show the way toward true knowledge; present concepts, facts and figures, perhaps inspire the imagination and encourage the soul, if we’re lucky.

But the real lessons in life and true knowledge must come from within, an internal understanding; for then it takes root and becomes a part of us, even as a hand or a heart.

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On Fear as a Tactic

“When an objection cannot be made formidable, there is some policy in trying to make it frightful; and to substitute the yell and the war-whoop, in the place of reason, argument and good order”

At the start of the World War ll Franklin Roosevelt told the nation that all we need fear is fear itself.

Today it seems that fear is to be embraced. To insure that the wrong vote is not cast, the spectre of a mushroom cloud is invoked; to justify an ill-conceived foreign policy, it is said that wild-eyed fundamentalists will find and kill us if we don’t continue to prosecute the very same war that helps to bring forth a new generation of wild-eyed fundamentalists – fear playing into fear, and engendering more fear.

Fear as a tactic to hold power and manipulate people is one used by tyrants, fools, and bad presidents. It does not serve the good of the people.

All we need fear is fear itself – and those that use fear to gain advantage or cling to power.

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On Spin, Politics, and Human Nature

“The action of spinning upholds a top.”

It is not a particular domain of any one party; “spin” is the modus operandi of all politics. The art of the possible through manipulation of language, distortion of meaning, and manipulation of opinion.

Sometimes it is called leadership; other times nothing more than a falsehood foisted upon the Body Politic

It is not new, but it seems at can always be taken to new heights. And the larger the top the faster the spin in order to keep the whole thing from toppling over.

Such is the nature of governments and human affairs.

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On Respecting Your Elders

“Wisdom is not the purchase of a day”

When we are young and full of vigor and life – sharp as a tack – the excitement of all that is laid before us lull us into thinking that we actually have a clue about any of it.

The years grind at our bodies and wither our innocence. And from that we embark on whatever chance we have toward wisdom.

Wisdom takes time; there is much to learn from those that go before us.

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On Being What You Think

“The mind of man is not sufficiently capacious to attend to every thing at once, and while it suffers itself to be eaten up by narrow prejudices or fretted by personal politics, it will have neither relish nor appetite for public virtues.”

The decision thus becomes what it is we allow our minds to dwell upon.

Something to remember when considering the true nature of a divisive public discourse that panders to fear and the selfish politics of personal bigotry and prejudice.

We must guard against such a thing from happening, and when it does, have the insight to realize it and the will to do something about it.
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On Losing Sight of the Real Issue

“It often happens that the weight of an argument is lost by the wit of setting it off; or the judgment disordered by an intemperate irritation of the passions.”

Too often the messenger obscures the message; even if unintended. In an attempt to be clever or to disparage those on an opposing side of an argument, the point vanishes in a vitriolic sea of animosity aimed more at the messenger than the message.

A recent case in point occurred last Saturday at the White House Correspondents Dinner, but examples of it abound in our current public discourse: I think you’re a slimebag and anything that issues forth from your mouth is thus slime.

And whatever the point was in the beginning is lost.

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On Fear and Truth

“…the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think.
But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants is the liberty of appearing.”

When we stop thinking for ourselves, whether through fear or laziness, truth is often the first casualty.

But as Thomas Paine states in Rights of Man, the truth will pay no heed to such frailties and only awaits its discovery; patient and wanting nothing more.

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On Paying the Taxman

“When we think or talk about taxes, we ought to recollect that we lie down in peace and sleep in safety; that we can follow our farms or stores or other occupations, in prosperous tranquillity; and that these inestimable blessings are procured to us by the taxes that we pay. In this view, our taxes are properly our insurance money; they are what we pay to be made safe, and, in strict policy, are the best money we can lay out”

Granting that many may have issue with Thomas Paine’s take on taxes; and that many may have disagreements with how our government spends the money it collects, or the way it goes about collecting it, I offer Paine’s words nonetheless in hopes it may soften the blow from earlier this week of paying the taxman.

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On Willful Ignorance

“Where knowledge is a duty, ignorance is a crime.”

A responsible citizen in a modern society – especially one that influences so much of the rest of the world through its culture, foreign policy, military might, and demands on global resources – has a duty to be cognizant, to some degree, of the repercussions of his or her participation in that society.

It is not enough to know who was booted off the island last night, or the latest vote on American Idol, or have the latest scoop on some vapid pop star’s admission into rehap.

It is often said that we get the leaders we deserve. Therefore, it is our duty to know the issues of the day. It is our duty to be aware of the policies our leaders pursue in our name. It is our duty to seek knowledge of the world, our place in it, and the consequences thereof. We are not owed the freedoms and abundance of our society if we do nothing to help preserve it.

Ignorance is not bliss.

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