A system of values and beliefs that organize a society and result in various practices and artifacts that are associated with the general characteristics of that society.
The other day, the grandson of dear friends was gunned down, murdered in a drive by shooting in Albuquerque. He was a vibrant nineteen year old reaching out to a life to be led. Yesterday, another dear friend mentioned the continuing grief of the death of her twenty-something son by a hit and run driver … More Suffering and Death Do Not Become You.
I vaguely remember when I first encountered sociology and wondered, ‘what’s that about.’ I had taken an ‘aptitude test’ during my first year in college. It indicated that my highest strengths were in ‘science’ and ‘social.’ My first thought was, “What’s ‘social?” When I explored the social sciences, especially sociology and psychology, I encountered a … More The Empire Is Not Us
War is expensive, in human life, environmental degradation, and in its destruction of human values. Nevertheless, most nations do not hesitate to spend what they believe is necessary to either defend their territory or conquer that of another nation. In every case, ‘the other’ is defined as less than human. Costa Rica is the exception; … More Strategy and Tactics, Blood and Brutality
It never ceases to amaze me. I have known for at least a couple of decades how deranged the narcissistic sociopath could be, in public so often, no less. I was no fan of ‘The Apprentice,’ or its competitive nastiness. But plenty of public performances and journalistic reports made it clear that no amount of … More I Love My Black Job Too!
I sat spellbound the other night listening to Karim A.A. Khan, the Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal court, as he explained to Christiane Amanpour why he sought arrest warrants from the court for the leadership of both Israel and Hamas. His public announcement had listed the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by … More The Rational Man in a World of Hate
On a recent road trip of nearly two thousand miles up the Pacific coast of Mexico, I encountered more ‘big rigs’ than ever before. On many parts of the carretera, there were many more trucks than cars. And many more pulled two trailers than I had noticed in the past. Think NAFTA. It reminded me … More Too Many Trucks: Consequences of Modern Culture
We are on the road again, this time heading north, back to the high desert of Northern New Mexico, again. We do consider Mexico home too. After all, I have lived here for months at a time, off and on ever since those college days in the 1960s. Yes, parts of Mexico can be dangerous, … More On the Road Again, Again
If you look at the world from an independent perspective, some things are obvious, others not so much. The Industrial Age has generated vast quantities of raw data and information (data structured to make sense). Ordinarily we are not aware of much of what our brains are doing, and that is probably a good thing … More The Shapeshifting Dominator and Us
Our hyper-media culture of industrial modernity tends to send us off in all sorts of directions. In fact, tangential thinking seems to dominate most discussions of important matters. For example, I have been in many discussions of how to deal with the destruction caused by the heating of the planet and the extraction of ‘resources’ … More Back to Basics: Can We Return to Reality?
I am often puzzled by various ‘environmentalists.’ (I put the semi-quote marks around the word, since there are many types and variations among folks who either go by the designation or are called that by others.) All the various professionals, activists, academics, and even politicians (well politicians more than any others) go about their work … More There are No Do-Overs Now.
