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The Distillation of Wisdom: Forgiveness

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On November 4, 2010

In Blog

I love a good quotation, because a good quotation is a concentration of thought, whether profound or humorous. I keep an extensive quotes file of things that have struck me as worth reading over from time to time, as many others I know do.

So today, I was over at the excellent Making Light blog. I read ML regularly, but I generally do so via RSS, so I don’t often find myself on their actual webpage. But today, I was, and a quote in the sidebar caught my eye and literally made me catch my breath.

“Forgiveness requires giving up on the possibility of a better past.” (unknown)

Now, this is nothing I didn’t already know, and its even something I’ve tried to express in the past. But I’d never seen it put so elegantly and succinctly.

Lawrence Goodwyn: The Great Predicament Facing Obama | News & Politics | AlterNet

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On November 3, 2010

In Blog

Progressives (and centrists) discouraged by last nights election may take comfort in the context the historical long view has to offer. Excellent interview with historian Lawrence Goodwyn on today’s theme, “What does it all mean?”

Lawrence Goodwyn: The Great Predicament Facing Obama | News & Politics | AlterNet

Jan Frel: It seems there’s quite a bit of disagreement about what kind of president we have on our hands.

Lawrence Goodwyn: Well, Jan, we are in the midst of the shakedown cruise of an historic presidency. If I may risk understatement, it has taken quite a while for Barack Obama and his diverse constituencies to begin to understand one another. I believe both still have some distance to travel. Early on, things were pretty wild, but many people have learned many things and a measure of calm can finally be seen around the edges of the national anxiety that engulfs us all.

In general, it is quite apparent that the politics of the Obama era has been far more volatile than most observers remotely anticipated. But as a historian, I bring to this confused setting the hopelessly long view that is endemic to my calling. Long views are by definition remote, distant and therefore tending toward a measure of calm. They are by no means inoculated against error, but they provide room for engaged reflection not easily found in the heat of battle.

So let me present a calming conclusion. In my opinion, the energy among the democratic faithful to make the journey is still there. While ordinary folks have been put through a lot, do not underestimate the resolve that remains for the long haul. Unanticipated poverty is an enormous energizer — and most of all for people who understand their own fate to be utterly undeserved. In due course they will see through the sleight of hand and empty content embedded in corporate sound bites. I am talking about millions of Americans, many of whom wavered and many who did not. It will take some more time for this to become clear. But it will happen.

Voted!

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On November 2, 2010

In Blog

On my lunch hour, I popped down to the polling station and cast my ballot. There was almost no one there, which I found surprising for the noon hour, but given that Georgia is now a state that allows early voting, that may be the trend going forward. I forgot to ask the poll workers what number I was.

Election Day In America

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On November 2, 2010

In Blog

Every time an election rolls around, you’ll hear a lot of people remind you of your right to vote. This is not one of those posts, because I have a somewhat more philosophical point to make, and one which gets an unsurprising amount of pushback from the cynical.

Today is Election Day in America. If you are an American citizen and of legal age to do so, you have a responsibility to vote.

We live in a participatory democracy, with a government made up of fellow citizens. Both the representatives that we elect and the civil servants who actually execute the business of government are our neighbours and fellow members of society. There is not, in principle, a “ruling class” from which our leaders are selected. (There certainly seems to be in practice, but that’s not an ideal situation.)

Because this is a participatory citizen government, you have the ability to be a part of it. You can run for office, or work for someone who is. You can speak to your representatives in the government, and discuss the issues that are important to you. You can go to town meetings, raise awareness of issues, and generally make the wheels turn. If there are no candidates to your liking, you can encourage like minded peoples’ campaigns by supporting them, raising awareness of them, and generally boosting the signals that correspond with your worldview. The only thing that limits the amount of involvement you have in your government is the amount of time and dedication you’re willing to commit.

Given all of that, actually getting off your duff and voting on Election Day is quite literally the least you can do.

I will not say, as I’ve seen others suggest, that if you fail to vote you forfeit your rights to free speech, or that you don’t love your country or care about it. No one is going to force you to go to the polls and cast your ballot. You certainly have the right to forfeit your turn at the lever, if that’s your desire.

But you shouldn’t, because voting in elections is one of the most basic and fundamental responsibilities of being a citizen in a participatory democracy.

So if you are able, take the time….make the time…to go to your polling station and vote for the people who will best represent you in the coming years.

It’s the least you can do.

More on Money and Happiness | Big Questions Online

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On November 1, 2010

In Blog

Some things to think about here. I’ve often half-joked that all I’ve ever wanted was for someone to PROVE to me that money can’t make me happy. But the real truth is, maximizing your happiness isn’t about how much you money you have, but how you invest it to get more of the things and experiences that make you happy.

More on Money and Happiness | Big Questions Online

[Elizabeth] Dunn is a social psychologist at the University of British Columbia, and in a new paper, she’s teamed up with Dan Gilbert of Harvard University and Timothy Wilson of the University of Virginia to show us how we can spend our money to better maximize our happiness.

According to them, money “can buy many, if not most, if not all of the things that make people happy, and if it doesn’t, then the fault is ours.” Because, they say, we’re not spending it right.

The problem, they argue, is that:

Most people don’t know the basic scientific facts about happiness—about what brings it and what sustains it—and so they don’t know how to use their money to acquire it. … Money is an opportunity for happiness, but it is an opportunity that people routinely squander because the things they think will make them happy often don’t.

All Patriots ‘Know’ that Moses Wrote the Constitution – Garrett Epps – National – The Atlantic

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On October 29, 2010

In Blog

If you ever hear stuff about the Constitution emanating from the fringe that makes you think “WTF?”, here’s a peek into where (some of it) is coming from.

All Patriots ‘Know’ that Moses Wrote the Constitution – Garrett Epps – National – The Atlantic

But what’s striking is how much these people hunger to understand America and its Constitution. “I have a master’s degree,” one man said to me, “and nine-tenths of this information I never got in any formal education. That’s not good when you live in a country that you don’t understand.” There’s a palpable yearning for tools to understand and change the terrible mess we’re in.

Given that curiosity, it’s quite striking that the seminar, which begins at 8:30 a.m., takes until 1:30 to get to the actual Constitution.

That’s because we have to learn the basic truth about the Constitution: God wrote it. It comes directly from the government instituted by Moses when he led the Children of Israel out of Egypt. That system was re-instituted in England around 450 A.D. by the Anglo-Saxon rulers Hengist and Horsa. The Founding Fathers, led by Thomas Jefferson, copied the Constitution directly from the “ancient constitution” of the Anglo-Saxons.

The new barbarism: Keeping science out of politics – How the World Works – Salon.com

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On October 28, 2010

In Blog

I pretty much agree with this. We need more science driving policy, not less. More rationality, less superstition. More reason, less dogma.

The new barbarism: Keeping science out of politics – How the World Works – Salon.com

Keep science out of the political process? Science? I thought it was supposed to be the other way around; that the goal was the keep politics out of science. I can understand, albeit disagree with, categorizations of anthropogenic global warming as bad science, but I’m afraid I just can’t come to grips with the notion that we should keep “science” from influencing politics at all. What is the point of civilization in the first place if we don’t use our hard-won understanding of how the universe works to influence our decisions on how to organize ourselves?

Watching one Republican candidate for office after another declare outright that they do not believe humans are causing climate change is befuddling enough. But to flat-out reject science as a guide to policy is beyond medieval. It’s a retreat to pure superstition, a surrender to barbarism. We might as well be reading omens in the entrails of sacrificial animals. Our wealth as a country, our incredible technological wonders — the Industrial Revolution! — were built upon scientific discovery.

Bids start at $35,000 for this street-legal Tron lightcycle | DVICE

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On October 27, 2010

In Blog

Bids start at $35,000 for this street-legal Tron lightcycle | DVICE

No need to wait for the release of Tron Legacy in December — now you can turn science fiction into science fact with a street-legal Tron Legacy lightcycle. Built from the exact specs of the movie props, there will only be five of these in existence, all lit up with LEDs and neon that will certainly be the envy of all the other motorcyclists.

Powered by the buyer’s choice of a 1000cc gasoline engine or high-powered electric motor, the bikes will have custom-built 22-inch hubless wheels, and the builder even promises to include an authentic Tron helmet. You’ll have to put together that lit-up fire suit yourself, a small price to pay for this dazzling authenticity.

Each of the five one-of-a-kind collector’s items will have a different accent color in either red, blue, yellow, green, or orange, and the famed custom motorcycle builders at Parker Brothers Choppers say they can put this monster together for you within a couple of months. Order now — bidding starts at $35,000 — and by the time the movie hits theaters, you’ll already have been riding your new lightcycle for a couple of months.

Quote of the Decade

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On October 27, 2010

In Blog

“I have been part of this debate for years, but things do get settled and this issue is now settled for me. I do not debate any longer with members of the “Flat Earth Society” either. I do not debate with people who think we should treat epilepsy by casting demons out of the epileptic person; I do not waste time engaging those medical opinions that suggest that bleeding the patient might release the infection. I do not converse with people who think that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans as punishment for the sin of being the birthplace of Ellen DeGeneres or that the terrorists hit the United Sates on 9/11 because we tolerated homosexual people, abortions, feminism or the American Civil Liberties Union. I am tired of being embarrassed by so much of my church’s participation in causes that are quite unworthy of the Christ I serve or the God whose mystery and wonder I appreciate more each day.

Indeed I feel the Christian Church should not only apologize, but do public penance for the way we have treated people of color, women, adherents of other religions and those we designated heretics, as well as gay and lesbian people. Life moves on.

As the poet James Russell Lowell once put it more than a century ago: “New occasions teach new duties, Time makes ancient good uncouth.” I am ready now to claim the victory. I will from now on assume it and live into it.

I am unwilling to argue about it or to discuss it as if there are two equally valid, competing positions any longer. The day for that mentality has simply gone forever. This is my manifesto and my creed. I proclaim it today. I invite others to join me in this public declaration. I believe that such a public outpouring will help cleanse both the church and this nation of its own distorting past. It will restore integrity and honor to both church and state. It will signal that a new day has dawned and we are ready not just to embrace it, but also to rejoice in it and to celebrate it,”

—Bishop John Shelby Spong

(much thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the pointer)

The 10 weirdest physics facts

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On October 26, 2010

In Blog

Science is utterly fascinating. The more we learn about the universe, the more we realize how much we don’t know about it.

The 10 weirdest physics facts, from relativity to quantum physics – Telegraph:

Physics is weird. There is no denying that. Particles that don’t exist except as probabilities; time that changes according to how fast you’re moving; cats that are both alive and dead until you open a box.

We’ve put together a collection of 10 of the strangest facts we can find, with the kind help of cosmologist and writer Marcus Chown, author of We Need To Talk About Kelvin, and an assortment of Twitter users.

The humanities-graduate writer of this piece would like to stress that this is his work, so any glaring factual errors he has included are his own as well. If you spot any, feel free to point them out in the comment box below.

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