INTERESTING TIMES

 

"...growing up in church desensitizes you to logical inconsistencies, and that opens up large numbers of people to manipulation tactics employed by individuals and institutions keen on controlling groups of people for their own self-serving purposes."

 

—Neil Carter in How Faith Breaks Your Thinker 

APRIL 10, 2018

SOURCE: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessindixie/2018/04/10/how-faith-breaks-your-thinker/

Excellent resource on logical inconsistencies:
https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/

What I Have Learned So Far

Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world? Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.

Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause? I don’t think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of
light is the crossroads of — indolence, or action.
Be ignited, or be gone.

~ Mary Oliver

One of the best things about my sweetie is that he is at least 73% grown up.  He's 62 years of age, and he's neither an early or later bloomer, he's just a man.  I credit his wives and life with educating him, and him with making the effort to become a decent human being.  It doesn't happen to everyone.  The mankind project helped.  He really is kind, generous, and thoughtful.  He is a very hard worker.  His word is better than his memory.  He's trying.

Unfortunately, he still leaves dirty dishes in the sink.  I've been working on him to realize that this is important to me but he persists in thinking that I am unreasonable in asking him to do it differently.  When we have partners that we care about, it is wise to concern ourselves with their desires, even if they seem irrational.  Doing what we want to do for them is different from doing what they want us to do for them, or just in general.

So I just ran across this article by a man who confesses up front that he was a terrible husband.  He's so awash in authenticity and willingness to work on himself that I'd be surprised if his ex-wife doesn't want him back.  If she doesn't, someone else will.  Guys who are sincere and have integrity rule.

Here's the guy's blog.  It's awesome.
http://mustbethistalltoride.com

And the article about leaving things in the sink:
http://mustbethistalltoride.com/2016/01/14/she-divorced-me-because-i-left-dishes-by-the-sink/

If you don't stick to your values when they're being tested, they're not values: They're hobbies.
--Jon Stewart

American men have a variety of handicaps, not the least of which is that ruggedly independent badass image they try so hard to live up to. But it does them a disservice when it prevents them from really being close to others. There's no guarantee that they'll have or develop the ability to really connect deep down .... so it's something to celebrate when it happens. It turns out that age 80 is not too late to develop emotional intelligence. =-]

WORTH READING:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/opinion/brooks-the-heart-grows-smarter.html?smid=fb-share&_r=2&

‎A creative man
is motivated by the desire to achieve,
not by the desire to beat others.
--Ayn Rand

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/06/12/beatrice-golomb-interview.aspx
Beatrice Golomb explains it well.

I just keep getting more impressed with Carter's work. I am excited that he went to speak with Hamas, in spite of Shrub and Israel. Hamas was elected by a majority vote, after all. Even if Shrub says they are terrorists, the Palestinian people chose them in 2006. Aren't we supposed to be spreading Democracy around the world? http://therealnews.com/web/index.php?thisdataswitch=0&thisid=1382&thisview=item&renewx=2008-04-23%2B09%3A03%3A15#

Today, after his victory in North Carolina, it became pretty much clear to me that Obama will be the democratic nominee. I feel comfortable that McCain can't beat him, and that we may have our first black president. Certainly he has been privledged, but that is no reason to discount his blackness, or his ability to know the hearts of people. I look forward to a day when America stands for truth and honor again, when I do not have to disown my government while traveling.

I didn't catch Obama's whole speech today, but I did catch part on NPR and part on therealnews.com. It appears to me that Obama knows he has the Democratic nomination sewn up. He conceded Indiana to Clinton in a way complimentary to both her and Indiana. He is trying to make peace. He sounds as if he is already the president.