Sunday, February 26, 2017
Friday, February 24, 2017
Friday, February 17, 2017
Mistakes Were Made
Just started reading Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me), by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson. Only in the first chapter, but absolutely loving it. A terrific view of why we believe things that are objectively wrong. (Hint: Cognitive Dissonance.)
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Friday, February 10, 2017
Thursday, February 09, 2017
Wednesday, February 08, 2017
Evidentiary
I didn't need proof that things are very strange and more than a little scary, but I got it anyway.
A friend living in Iran - home of the Revolutionary Guard and institutionalized intolerance - asked me yesterday evening if my family is okay.
A friend living in northern France asked me last night if there was going to be a civil war in the United States.
To the first, the answer is yes. We're comfortably well off, we're not in physical danger. Emotionally, it's another story. To the second, I said that I didn't think so.
I found myself thinking about the Jews (and others) in the 1930s, who converted their assets into easily portable jewelry, just in case. And wondering if we should contemplate that. This is not something that you want to find yourself thinking about, at any time, and even more so at two o'clock in the morning. Which is when I woke up, thinking about it.
It's fine and very Gandhi-ish to say that love trumps hate, and that we should fight intolerance with understanding and acceptance. But what do you do when the person who should be leading that effort is in fact the primany supporter and instigator of the intolerance?
In a better world, the leaders of the society would politely ask that leader to step down, and in recognition of their moral force, he would do so.
In this one, that would not only not happen, but could not be conceived of happening. Each of the leaders would instead be jockeying for power and influence. Each sure -- or at least proclaiming - that they were doing it for the people.
Without much evidence of it.
A friend living in Iran - home of the Revolutionary Guard and institutionalized intolerance - asked me yesterday evening if my family is okay.
A friend living in northern France asked me last night if there was going to be a civil war in the United States.
To the first, the answer is yes. We're comfortably well off, we're not in physical danger. Emotionally, it's another story. To the second, I said that I didn't think so.
I found myself thinking about the Jews (and others) in the 1930s, who converted their assets into easily portable jewelry, just in case. And wondering if we should contemplate that. This is not something that you want to find yourself thinking about, at any time, and even more so at two o'clock in the morning. Which is when I woke up, thinking about it.
It's fine and very Gandhi-ish to say that love trumps hate, and that we should fight intolerance with understanding and acceptance. But what do you do when the person who should be leading that effort is in fact the primany supporter and instigator of the intolerance?
In a better world, the leaders of the society would politely ask that leader to step down, and in recognition of their moral force, he would do so.
In this one, that would not only not happen, but could not be conceived of happening. Each of the leaders would instead be jockeying for power and influence. Each sure -- or at least proclaiming - that they were doing it for the people.
Without much evidence of it.
Monday, February 06, 2017
Friday, February 03, 2017
Grab Your....
As much as I am delighted by pretty much anything that causes a problem for Trump, I can't bring myself to support the Grab Your Wallet organization, which seeks to instigate boycotts of companies who either do business with or actively endorse Trump and his brand. I don't think less of LL Bean because one of their directors donated more than the legal maximum to Trump -- I wish they had not, but that doesn't mean to me that LL Bean should now be forgotten. I don't think that Nordstrom's should be praised for no longer carrying the clothing line of Trump's daughter, whether they dropped it because sales were poor or because they didn't want to be boycotted. These are all secondary targets, useful only to the extext that they distract Trump -- and given that he has plenty of grimy little worker bees who are busily snipping words out of the Constitution, or adding sections, or just ignoring it entirely means to me that what happens or doesn't happen to a company won't affect the generally offensive thrust of his actions.
I read today a warning to the effect that liberals are starting to get into a hothouse atmosphere where anything that Trump does is deeply offensive. Certainly, much of it is. He is catering to the deep right, the Bible-belters, the mouth breathers. But that does not mean that everything he does is wrong. I know, people like his supporters are black-or-white; you are either for him completely, without reservation, or you're a dammed Commie who should be ridden out of town on a rail. That doesn't mean that we can't be nuanced, ourself. I look at a Facebook page for Anti-Trumpists, and I've noticed that as more men get involve, the tenor of conversations there is getting more heated, more lets just blast Air Force One out of the sky. (No one has said that, literally, but I did see comments today of Where is Lee Harvey when we need him, followed by a comment of We don't need an assassin yet. That's crazy talk. Literally, crazy.)
I oppose Trump and just about everything he stands for - but when people start advocating boycotting a company because they sell his daughter's clothing line, or assassinating Trump himself -- that's going too far. Way too far.
Get a grip, people -- or you will turn into the same foaming-at-the-mouth types who've populated Trump rallies. In other words, idiots.
I read today a warning to the effect that liberals are starting to get into a hothouse atmosphere where anything that Trump does is deeply offensive. Certainly, much of it is. He is catering to the deep right, the Bible-belters, the mouth breathers. But that does not mean that everything he does is wrong. I know, people like his supporters are black-or-white; you are either for him completely, without reservation, or you're a dammed Commie who should be ridden out of town on a rail. That doesn't mean that we can't be nuanced, ourself. I look at a Facebook page for Anti-Trumpists, and I've noticed that as more men get involve, the tenor of conversations there is getting more heated, more lets just blast Air Force One out of the sky. (No one has said that, literally, but I did see comments today of Where is Lee Harvey when we need him, followed by a comment of We don't need an assassin yet. That's crazy talk. Literally, crazy.)
I oppose Trump and just about everything he stands for - but when people start advocating boycotting a company because they sell his daughter's clothing line, or assassinating Trump himself -- that's going too far. Way too far.
Get a grip, people -- or you will turn into the same foaming-at-the-mouth types who've populated Trump rallies. In other words, idiots.
Thursday, February 02, 2017
Today
After dreaming about Trump (whom I detest with the fury of a thousand suns) last night, I spent today studiously skipping any mention of him. I can't continue -- the fight against him, his stupidity, and his bigotry must continue in each of us -- but I do feel better.
The chocolate egg cream I just made, helped.
The chocolate egg cream I just made, helped.
Wednesday, February 01, 2017
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