Life

Thoughts and insights about life. Philosophy. Sociology. Politics. How to live life and get the most out of it.

The world is changed by your example not your opinion.

Paulo Coelho de Souza, a Brazilian lyricist and novelist

It is far better to light the candle than to curse the darkness.

William L. Watkinson

A recent sign read at a rally:

we said → black lives matter
never said only black lives matter
we know all lives matter

we just need your help with black lives matter for black lives are in danger

Agree or disagree this seems to sum up the perspective thoughtful protesters are trying to communicate in very few words. Elegant.

Turkish proverb:

When the axe came into the Forest, the trees said, The handle is one of us.

A modernized version:

The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe, for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood he was one of them.

by Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet, 1914-1953

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

For some time now, I've been making the point to a few close friends and family members that the country is headed for a civil event (if not a war then at least a break up of states into independent countries.) For me, it's time to create an outpost outside the USA1. The outline of my thought process is as follows:

It seems to me that God is not the kind of being that seeks for you to be lazy. We shouldn't just wait and "trust in God" to help, solve problems, or make good things happen.

That kind of laziness does not seem to be consistent with the teachings in the Bible or other sources. Ignoring your own ability to think, decide, and take action is the easy way out.

Often this is expressed as, "I have faith and trust in God because he will take care of me." Or, rather than learning, understanding, and making a decision, the sentiment that, "I just trust in God." or "He will provide." While I might applaud the strength of faith, I contend this is lazy thinking and lazy in the lack of action.

Christians that justify their decisions or actions by using a single sentence, phrase, or word from the Bible are often guilty of ignoring the essence of the message via intentional ignorance or a desire for misdirection to justify their actions. A closely related approach is when the reader interprets the importance of a Bible passage grossly out of proportion to the overall message as a justification.

Just a few Bible quotes and observations about the poor. All the quotes are from the King James version. Highlights are added and not from the source.

by Alfred Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, 2 Dec 1854

1.
Half a league half a league
Half a league onward
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
'Forward the Light Brigade
Charge for the guns' he said
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred

On April 23, 1910, former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt delivered the “Citizenship in a Republic” speech at the Sorbonne in Paris. Within the speech, I find one of his most quoted items, which is included below.