Not Yet Nirvana

These days, politics takes up a lot of our time, especially those of us on social media. We argue with those who disparage the political  party we support, scream at our computer screens and televisions when we see a member of the opposition spinning news events, and exhaust ourselves ferreting out real news from “fake” news. There is a division in American society, which has only two viable political parties, the left and the right, the quintessential either/or philosophical fallacy. Lines are drawn. Dogma becomes amour that facts cannot breach on either side. America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, seems to be slipping into the land of the freaks and the home of the knave. Presidential press conferences look more like episodes from Jerry Springer. And the gravitas, so hard won by America in decades past, appears to be diminishing. It is painful to witness. It should anger us, regardless of our politics, for this is an assault on the essence of that which...

All my life I have been a far left supporter. Now, I feel let down, disappointed by those whom I had thought shared at least some of my basic tenets and so, I must re-evaluate my position. But in order to do that, I must write down what I think each side stands for, what I stand for, and then decide a course of action. Conservatism is a political ideology that to me appears stilted and not up to the task of making the necessary choices in an open society in the 21st century. Mired in maintaining traditional perspectives and preserving religious beliefs and cultural customs, conservatism remains hobbled in its response to the changing world we live in, a world that runs exponentially faster than it did in the last century due to technological progress in computers, communications and the digital age. The conservative tenet of the rugged individual free to chart his own course is a myth. The US army settled the west first and then pioneers came to claim the land the government had p...

We were nomadic hunter and gatherers living in small family groups. After 9,500 BCE, we developed agriculture and began domesticating animals. The nature of farming eventually caused us to be less nomadic and settlements developed. Surplus food meant increased population and family groupings gave way to include extended families. As the population increased, non-family members were included within settlements. This continued as the population grew, settlements expanded, and the division of labor created new roles. Craftsmen built the tools necessary for farming, trading goods for food and other items. Women looked after the children, the homes, worked the fields, and carried water. Men built shelters, tools, worked the fields, and provided security. Stories that were told around lonely campfires to explain the unexplainable evolved into cherished myths binding a settlement and it’s non-family members together in shared kinship. The shaman/priest class evolved. Competition for res...