Rambling thoughts
Published Tue, Sep 9 2008 9:59 AM
Observe the earth and you might notice that things change. Sometimes the changes are subtle and take a long time to become obvious, as with the raising of mountain ranges or their eventual erosion. Sometimes the changes are swift, as with the eruption of volcanoes or the ripping apart of the ground during an earthquake. The thing is though, everything changes, from the shape of the land to the position of the continents to the composition of the atmosphere and even to the climate.
Observe the works of man and you will notice that substantial effort must be applied to prevent decay. A house, once built must be maintained or it will eventually collapse, sometimes in decades, sometimes after a longer period of time. The same forces that, over millennia, tear down mountains eat away at bricks, mortar and wood. Only through the application of regular maintenance do the works of mankind last.
Communism just doesn't work. The first British colonists in America discovered that centuries before Karl Marx penned the Communist Manifesto. What they found did work was property ownership and capitalism. Is this perhaps why the socialist left doesn't want our kids to learn American history?
Where is there room for compromise between the following points of view?
- Life begins at conception.
- An unborn child may be aborted at any time prior to and including the moment of its birth.
- A child that survives an abortion may (should?) be denied care and left to die to honor the mother's choice.
All human behavior has consequences. By the very act of breathing we increase the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere.
Charles Darwin did not come up with the concept of evolution by himself.
While people use symbolism all the time, not every expression is intended to be symbolic.
Defending yourself and others is not an aggressive act, although aggressors might perceive it to be one.
None of us is perfect. We all have flaws, whether they are superficial or deep, hidden or obvious.
We all set standards for ourselves, and probably none of us meet them. It is better to have high standards and fail to meet them (and thus be called a hypocrite) than to have low standards and also fail to meet them.
Failure to live up to high standards is no excuse not to try.
Sometimes an insult is intended to be exactly that. Claiming it's art when challenged doesn't change that — it merely demonstrates cowardice.
Science and religion are not mutually exclusive. Science cannot disprove religion, neither can it prove it, since it disallows religious arguments.
“Science”, when it tries to explain things that cannot be tested is simply another form of religion.
Politicians lie. We all know that. If lying were to be used as a criteria to exclude someone from holding public office only the anarchists would be happy because no one could hold public office. It's not important that politicians lie, rather it's important what they lie about.
Of course the media is biased. It always has been, even in pre-colonial times.
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David responded with:
 | "While people use symbolism all the time, not every expression is intended to be symbolic."
Well, sorta. My introduction to Suzanne Langer, back in the Dark Ages, disabused me of any comcept of language as being in any way non-symbolic , though. :-) But, I think know what you mean.
"Of course the media is biased. It always has been, even in pre-colonial times."
Yeh, but what chaps my gizzard is Mass Media Podpeople who refuse to admit their bias and present themselves as evenhanded. |
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