Surprised the AI response reflected wisdom, not just Internet regurgitation. When I became aware of the world ~1970 I realized American society was rotting from human laziness, self-indulgence, and corruption. But (as the AI said) it's not "intentional"; it's human nature; and there's no stopping it until a critical mass of people wake up. And unfortunately, humans only "wake up" after a night of laying in the gutter, and/or nearly dead, and they finally reverse course.
My solution has been to buy guns and ammunition. There's no stopping what we see coming.
When all is said and done, all the "excesses" of modern life - particularly, the ease of knowledge accrual - have made it POSSIBLE for life on earth to be wonderful for everyone. Alexander Hamilton (my intellectual hero wiseman of the past few centuries) was totally self-taught, and yet he came from the poorest of circumstances. Abraham Lincoln (our most selfless, morally analytical, politically aware president) read only a few dozen books (over and over), but his decisions were a near-perfect balance of his own protection and the best results for the entire nation.
Ayn Rand's self-centered version of Positivism has crept like a disease into individual thinking ("I want my Maypo."). Group think is being mastered by (evil) groups intent on universal control by claiming that no one needs to think for oneself, but only to follow. Religions flail against each other without realizing that their (supposed) conformity is a belief in a Loving God. Quantum Mechanics can "prove", IMO TMS (to my satisfaction), that we live in a time-space continuum in which our timeless, spaceless God can intercommunicate with us via exchanges of (proper) prayer and grace, irregardless of a specific religion, but conditional on one's belief (faith) that there is a Loving God. The "There must be a Prime Mover" of Plato is our Loving God.
We must, individually, seek the truth in all areas and must know when we are accepting what we believe are statements of truth. The Garden of Eden is the perfect example of the common universe of humans. There is, basically, only one personal sin, one personal evil, and it is False Pride. False Pride is a rejection of what is good for the common cause (and it does not mean that you ever reject oneself because a Loving God does not want that) and making choices that will primarily please your own desires. Positivism attempts to avoid this dilemma by saying "Do anything that will improve your own desires, but do not do anything that intentionally harms others because then you will love yourself less, and loving yourself is the only important love." Over 50 years ago, I had such discussions with a friend who had gone from being a devout Calvinist to being a devout Catholic to being a devout Ayn Rand Positivist, and I would say that the decision he might make in a certain situation might be the same as the one I would make except that he would be making it because of love of himself, whereas I would do the same because of love for a Loving God .... Bill Lynch .... bandglynch@gmail.com
Public education is the western Shiva, the Hindu God of creation and destruction. Social, intellectual, and spiritual stability were emphasized by public education when it was started almost two hundred years ago. It has become the agent of destruction, to some extent through laziness and inattention, but to a greater extent intentionally while the agents of destruction hoped the rest of wouldn't notice until it was too late to change course.
How people go through life without a sense of wonder is beyond me. They are dead men walking who don't/can't/won't think past their next step. Are we in the midst of the "new" Neanderthals (if they ever really existed)? If people give very little thought to why we are here, then laziness and drudgery become the norm. That's a horrible and wasted life. Perhaps, a read through the book of Job could stir up a little curiosity, a realization of complexity, an appreciation of ancient man's intellect and a humility about how little we know or understand about the universe we live in...considering there "might" be a "god" out there expands one mind.
Great post! Work is good! Idleness breeds illness of the body and mind. Without purpose, without a reason for rolling out of bed in the morning, without a lively curiosity of what challenges and gifts the day might bring, there's no sense to life at all. And yes, socialism promotes idleness with the promise of free everything, and AI relieves us of ever using our own brains again.
Pull the plug. Grow your own food. Put all those homeless people living on city sidewalks in the "town farms" to build their own housing and grow their own food. Every town used to have one, a place that took in the old, the orphans, the people that didn't fit in. Give them a job to do, a reason to get up in the morning, the vision of their work producing their own food and shelter and safety. We hunger for food and purpose for the mind and body. Spirituality is nourished by both. "Head, heart and hands" sums it up perfectly.
People need a reason for being...it is as Kahlil Gibran wrote "Work is love made visible." One's good work fills one's days with meaning. It should also touch others and lift them. Every day, I aim to do as much good as possible...sharing information. I also try to live as simply as possible....and do as little harm as possible, even to a blade of grass, as the Buddha taught. I make a conscious effort to nourish my body and brain with foods, which don't harm any life or the environment. Over 50 years ago, I wrote a paper entitled Living up to One's Highest Potential. I tried to live in this manner; as to have no regrets. I have accomplished more than I ever dreamed and learned a great deal. I believe learning is the only thing we take with us to the next level.
Excellent article! I also enjoyed the Alter AI version. This brings a quote that I keep on my fridge to mind. It is presented as a grandfather telling his grandchild that, "Our life was tiring for the body, but it was comfortable for the soul. Your life today is comfortable for the body, but it is tiring for the soul." - Unknown
I have also looked at NY's and the left's thoughtless sprint towards power grid instability as a blessing in disguise. Maybe the path back to sanity is for the grid to go dark. We do need to get back to hard labor and sunshine and relying on God as our strength and provider. We have had too much time on our hands (as your article perfectly out) and money in our pockets to waste on the absurd and downright insane.
Another thought I enjoy is that if electric busses can't get kids to socialist, secular indoctrination schools, then Hallelujah!
What we see as falling apart, God will use for His good purpose.
Stephanie: TY for your support and good comments. Re the God part, my personal belief is that we should "pray as if everything depended on God, but work as if everything depended on us."
I could not have put this into words, but I believe many people ‘feel’ it. Are enough fighting it is the question. Yes, apathy is rampant. And laziness feeds it, or maybe vice versa.
"many citizens are voluntarily voting for a Communist representative!!!" Who might that be? Are there any communists in American government right now? Can you name names?
Plum: Here are some names <https://totalnews.com/communist-party-achieves-significant-victory-in-local-elections-after-40-year-absence/>. Further, just because a person doesn't call themselves a Communist, doesn't change the reality that their positions are very similar to an official Communist — and in opposition to the principles that America was founded on (e.g., removing the Senate, getting rid of police, getting rid of the Electoral College, etc.).
Surprised the AI response reflected wisdom, not just Internet regurgitation. When I became aware of the world ~1970 I realized American society was rotting from human laziness, self-indulgence, and corruption. But (as the AI said) it's not "intentional"; it's human nature; and there's no stopping it until a critical mass of people wake up. And unfortunately, humans only "wake up" after a night of laying in the gutter, and/or nearly dead, and they finally reverse course.
My solution has been to buy guns and ammunition. There's no stopping what we see coming.
Good conclusions. Outstanding AI review.
When all is said and done, all the "excesses" of modern life - particularly, the ease of knowledge accrual - have made it POSSIBLE for life on earth to be wonderful for everyone. Alexander Hamilton (my intellectual hero wiseman of the past few centuries) was totally self-taught, and yet he came from the poorest of circumstances. Abraham Lincoln (our most selfless, morally analytical, politically aware president) read only a few dozen books (over and over), but his decisions were a near-perfect balance of his own protection and the best results for the entire nation.
Ayn Rand's self-centered version of Positivism has crept like a disease into individual thinking ("I want my Maypo."). Group think is being mastered by (evil) groups intent on universal control by claiming that no one needs to think for oneself, but only to follow. Religions flail against each other without realizing that their (supposed) conformity is a belief in a Loving God. Quantum Mechanics can "prove", IMO TMS (to my satisfaction), that we live in a time-space continuum in which our timeless, spaceless God can intercommunicate with us via exchanges of (proper) prayer and grace, irregardless of a specific religion, but conditional on one's belief (faith) that there is a Loving God. The "There must be a Prime Mover" of Plato is our Loving God.
We must, individually, seek the truth in all areas and must know when we are accepting what we believe are statements of truth. The Garden of Eden is the perfect example of the common universe of humans. There is, basically, only one personal sin, one personal evil, and it is False Pride. False Pride is a rejection of what is good for the common cause (and it does not mean that you ever reject oneself because a Loving God does not want that) and making choices that will primarily please your own desires. Positivism attempts to avoid this dilemma by saying "Do anything that will improve your own desires, but do not do anything that intentionally harms others because then you will love yourself less, and loving yourself is the only important love." Over 50 years ago, I had such discussions with a friend who had gone from being a devout Calvinist to being a devout Catholic to being a devout Ayn Rand Positivist, and I would say that the decision he might make in a certain situation might be the same as the one I would make except that he would be making it because of love of himself, whereas I would do the same because of love for a Loving God .... Bill Lynch .... bandglynch@gmail.com
Public education is the western Shiva, the Hindu God of creation and destruction. Social, intellectual, and spiritual stability were emphasized by public education when it was started almost two hundred years ago. It has become the agent of destruction, to some extent through laziness and inattention, but to a greater extent intentionally while the agents of destruction hoped the rest of wouldn't notice until it was too late to change course.
Agree with that.
How people go through life without a sense of wonder is beyond me. They are dead men walking who don't/can't/won't think past their next step. Are we in the midst of the "new" Neanderthals (if they ever really existed)? If people give very little thought to why we are here, then laziness and drudgery become the norm. That's a horrible and wasted life. Perhaps, a read through the book of Job could stir up a little curiosity, a realization of complexity, an appreciation of ancient man's intellect and a humility about how little we know or understand about the universe we live in...considering there "might" be a "god" out there expands one mind.
Great post! Work is good! Idleness breeds illness of the body and mind. Without purpose, without a reason for rolling out of bed in the morning, without a lively curiosity of what challenges and gifts the day might bring, there's no sense to life at all. And yes, socialism promotes idleness with the promise of free everything, and AI relieves us of ever using our own brains again.
Pull the plug. Grow your own food. Put all those homeless people living on city sidewalks in the "town farms" to build their own housing and grow their own food. Every town used to have one, a place that took in the old, the orphans, the people that didn't fit in. Give them a job to do, a reason to get up in the morning, the vision of their work producing their own food and shelter and safety. We hunger for food and purpose for the mind and body. Spirituality is nourished by both. "Head, heart and hands" sums it up perfectly.
People need a reason for being...it is as Kahlil Gibran wrote "Work is love made visible." One's good work fills one's days with meaning. It should also touch others and lift them. Every day, I aim to do as much good as possible...sharing information. I also try to live as simply as possible....and do as little harm as possible, even to a blade of grass, as the Buddha taught. I make a conscious effort to nourish my body and brain with foods, which don't harm any life or the environment. Over 50 years ago, I wrote a paper entitled Living up to One's Highest Potential. I tried to live in this manner; as to have no regrets. I have accomplished more than I ever dreamed and learned a great deal. I believe learning is the only thing we take with us to the next level.
You are walking a sacred path, Barbara.
Nadia: TY for your support and very good insights.
Trenchant analysis.
Read shop class as soulcraft. It points to connecting the Head, the Heart and the Hands. What school should be. As such it is the antidote
Marty: TY for your support. There are a surprising number of activities that involve all three beings — like playing golf!
Excellent article! I also enjoyed the Alter AI version. This brings a quote that I keep on my fridge to mind. It is presented as a grandfather telling his grandchild that, "Our life was tiring for the body, but it was comfortable for the soul. Your life today is comfortable for the body, but it is tiring for the soul." - Unknown
I have also looked at NY's and the left's thoughtless sprint towards power grid instability as a blessing in disguise. Maybe the path back to sanity is for the grid to go dark. We do need to get back to hard labor and sunshine and relying on God as our strength and provider. We have had too much time on our hands (as your article perfectly out) and money in our pockets to waste on the absurd and downright insane.
Another thought I enjoy is that if electric busses can't get kids to socialist, secular indoctrination schools, then Hallelujah!
What we see as falling apart, God will use for His good purpose.
Stephanie: TY for your support and good comments. Re the God part, my personal belief is that we should "pray as if everything depended on God, but work as if everything depended on us."
I could not have put this into words, but I believe many people ‘feel’ it. Are enough fighting it is the question. Yes, apathy is rampant. And laziness feeds it, or maybe vice versa.
"many citizens are voluntarily voting for a Communist representative!!!" Who might that be? Are there any communists in American government right now? Can you name names?
Plum: Here are some names <https://totalnews.com/communist-party-achieves-significant-victory-in-local-elections-after-40-year-absence/>. Further, just because a person doesn't call themselves a Communist, doesn't change the reality that their positions are very similar to an official Communist — and in opposition to the principles that America was founded on (e.g., removing the Senate, getting rid of police, getting rid of the Electoral College, etc.).
John,
The alterAI analysis of your initial observations was brilliant; so good that it might tempt me to make alterAI do my thinking!
Paul: Let's say "supplement" your thinking...