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After a reasonable period of deliberation, we have reached the confidant decision, that the printed evidence appearing on the yearly calendar, outweighs in probative value, the recent testimony of media weather forecasters, and that therefore, it is now adjudged to be Spring. At such time of year, our thoughts naturally gravitate to gardening and verdant subjects. These perennially include the amazing phenomenon of what appear to be, drab and inconspicuous tiny seeds, and their innate potential for truly magical performance. These small, unassuming power houses, when  natural conditions are favorable, (temperature, moisture, oxygen and darkness) are switched to “on” and prodded into action.

Much life on Earth, whether fauna and flora, owe its germination and existence to one kind of seed or another, activated by some mysterious force (which we choose to call the “spark”) and develops to its destined maturity. We are absolutely in awe, truly mystified and immensely respectful, of this eternal dynamic. But what is the origin and nature of this mysterious and essential spark that precipitates earthly life, governs and abides its existence, and at some point, sputters out, causing life to end? Devotees of Deistic religions have opted for an easy way out. A Deity of some denomination or another, omniscient and omnipresent, is their recognized origin, curator and source of life, as well as the referee as to longevity. There are, comfortably, for such believers, no such unanswered, agonizing questions to ponder, as there is for the agnostic.

For some perspective on the longevity of such Deist belief, we would refer to the many ancient religions in Europe, and elsewhere, who worshipped the Sun God. At certain times of the year, it was universally believed that the Deity was sick and dying; the presenting symptoms being, declining vegetation and trees, cold wind and snow, and the scarcity of animals. The sole exception were the wondrous evergreen trees, which magically continued to flourish. Societal rituals, involving evergreen trees, were religiously and faithfully enacted, and consistently resulted in the gradual, healthful recovery of the Deity; as evidenced by the appearance of new green plants, leafy trees, the thawing of frozen streams and the re-emergence of bunny rabbits and other woodland animals. It has been theorized by academics, that such early religious belief and rituals provided the foundation for those later faiths which chose to incorporate the “miracle” of “death and resurrection” in their belief and liturgy.

Comfort and satisfaction is derived from traditional religious explanations for the existential dilemmas and profound questions which eternally befuddle the agnostic. Yet, the latter, it seems, systemically, cannot ascribe to non- empirical explanations for earthly phenomena, such as the performance of seed, the laws of gravity and electricity, and, indeed, the earth’s origins. They would, defensively, stress that the word, “faith,” in the expression, “religious faith,” is distinguishable from the word, “knowledge,” in that the word “faith,” affords the permissible choice, to be a “believer” or not. Thus, believers have an obligation to not consider agnostics,” lost souls” or outcasts, and agnostics have a like obligation not to consider religionists, superstitious or schizophrenic.

We would surmise that it is doubtful that the underlying genesis of that “spark,” that impels a little seed to beautiful mature growth, will be empirically discovered; nevertheless, its scientific pursuit is most appropriate, as part of man’s natural and continuing aspiration to discover knowledge, and understanding. In any event, people of disparate opinion and belief, should respect mankind’s mutual limitations, and on principle, religious, or secular, entertain respect for each other, and practice reverential care for the Planet, its natural environment, and for all living things.

 

 

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In the 21^st Century, mankind continues to have sufficient reasons for disappointment and concern. There is yet no establishment of lasting world peace. World poverty and hunger have still to be adequately addressed. Economic injustice seems to prevail everywhere, with small percentages of national populations owning virtually all the wealth, while the far more numerous others are suffering various conditions of want. The planet and its immediate atmosphere is in the process of despoliation, despite which, many ignorant people, and selfish profiteers, are adamantly denying climate change (in the face of uniform warnings of the world’s most accredited scientists). Most rational priorities have been turned profoundly askew, with the denigration of scientific and social research, as well as intellectual pursuits.

If one were systemically optimistic, he might entertain the hope that in the future, mankind, at some point, will become more  informed and motivated, and such problems then capable of solution; what is necessary, he knows, is merely a popular realization that the path to their amelioration is in the direction of addressing such problems by rational awareness and enlightenment.

Sadly, no such optimistic outlook is possible for Sr. Antonio Vivaldi, the brilliant 18^th Century composer.  His most famous work, four short (combined) violin concertos each dedicated, respectively, to one of the natural seasons, is known as “The Four Seasons.” In Antonio’s day, and until recently, there were, inarguably, four distinct seasons, to which Vivaldi gave mellifluous, and specific recognition, in that inventive and exciting  Baroque composition.

Summers had been reliably hot and humid, for which we wore, appropriately, light clothes, Fall, cooler and drier, necessitating warmer dress, cold and snowy Winters required heavy clothes and boots, and Spring, called for lighter, more comfortable wear. The dates indicated on our yearly calendars, informed us of the (approximate) times when the distinct seasons were to arrive and expire.

In recent years, we have experienced unprecedented alteration in the seasonal weather patterns, manifesting no regularity, and little advance predictability.  This spring, as an illustrative example, had its dramatic inception with ice and snow, followed by strong cold winds and heavy rain. Past months  have demonstrated unpredictable weather events, often at variance with our  empirical expectations for the respective season. Accordingly, there is now the practical necessity to dress as dictated by the needs of the particular day, as opposed  doing so seasonally; there are, now, functionally no “winter jackets” or “fall” or “spring jackets”; there are only “heavy” And “light jackets.” . Our choice of activities, as well, may depend upon the day’s weather, rather than those in which we were traditionally engaged relative to the season.

We may be inconvenienced with the inconvenient clothing adjustments, but we are especially troubled lest these irregular meteorological shifts, portent future catastrophic planetary events. We are not versed in the discipline of meteorology nor climate studies, but  intuit that this phenomenon may be related to the climate changes referred to by our leading scientists. Their published findings warn of the dangerous  impact of man’s harmful production of hydrocarbons and other hazardous chemicals, polluting the earth’s atmosphere. We would like to  issue a serious public challenge to all “climate deniers,” to furnish a more cogent reason for these unprecedented and unusual meteorological  events.

While many Americans may opt to stay calm and await further developments, we can envision the unfortunate Antonio  Vivaldi, sitting quite alone, in his heavenly music room, severely dejected, concerning these recent events, most particularly concerning the possibility of downsizing  (or heaven forbid) the determined obsolescence, of his beautiful, four-part symphony.

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The degree of accuracy contained in the apocryphal tale of America’s first President, George Washington, which provides that, as a youth, he spontaneously and honestly confessed to his father that he (wrongfully) chopped down the cherry tree, or the conduct of an inquiry into the historic basis for President Abraham Lincoln’s nickname, “Honest Abe,” is relatively inconsequential. What does matter is the symbolic message communicated by such folklore, viz., that the good character and natural  inclination of Americans, is to reliably tell the truth (today, we might say, it is in our DNA). These two virtuous Presidents were elected by a voting population which did not deem it necessary to suspect any variation from the implicit traits of honesty and truthfulness, they experienced in interaction with each other, and expected of their governmental representatives.

The natural assumption of truthfulness, in fact, comprises the cornerstone of any successfully stable, interdependent, and interactive society. Historically, survival and existence were dependent upon truthful and reliable reports, often concerning matters which bore on life and death. As societies matured into more complex political-social entities (city states, and much later, national entities), presumed accuracy and truthfulness, remained a cornerstone support, facilitating mutual protection, social interaction, and ultimately, the growth and maturity of such societies through the communication of reliable information and instructed skills.

Since veracity, was always implicit, any questioning of the same was perceived as blatant insult. Like the traditional trust that necessarily exists between family members, especially spouses, its questioning was unnecessary and rare; and usually portended serious problems. It has been observed, empirically, that once the elements of trust and veracity, are breached, they can never be fully restored.

Thus, truthfulness and sincerity, existing as natural and implicit assumptions, an individual, who had been shown to have uttered a falsehood, became a social pariah, a resident outcast from society and, in effect, a stranger. The intentional act of lying, encompasses the secret withholding of the truth, from others, by the perpetrator, who may see himself as superior, by virtue of his exclusive knowledge of the truthful facts. Yet, by this lone and selfish act, he has effectively separated himself from those he knowingly misled; in pictorial terms, he has donned the invisible mask of deception, and has effectively, become a stranger, living behind that mask. This would be unendurable for a properly socialized member of society, who might well, remorsefully, confess his lie. Not so with the selfish, or sociopathic liar who may see his engineered deception as a personal accomplishment. It may be surmised that the latter never was, in essence, a dedicated and fully committed, member of society and had always worn a mask.

In sum, the element of truth was universal, and ultimate faith in its existence, made any explanation of such assumption, superfluous. Truth was never a subject for discussion but was the natural expectation; in rare cases of offense, the miscreant was adjudged a societal pariah, an outcast from that society.

From its inception, the surprising elevation of Donald Trump, an incapable, ignorant, egoist, to the office of President, began to evince harmful, bizarre and embarrassing activity. In his first days of office, Trump commenced an unprecedented series of adolescent style, informal, telephone calls to foreign heads of state, despite his complete ignorance of official protocol, or any knowledge [ by this transmographied former game show host] of the political state of affairs between the respective country telephoned, and the U.S.  Further  damage to the Office of the President and the country, has included appointment of self-serving, inept, cabinet members and departmental Secretaries; causing national and international embarrassment and disrespect by his acts and statements; publicly expressing his derogation of science, especially climate science; articulating voiced disrespect for the women’s movement;  commission of publicly advertised acts of sexual abuse; making bigoted statements on the subject of civil rights; manifesting consistent opposition to sensible gun laws, in support of the NRA; showing express disrespect for learning and intellectual pursuits; engaging in an inappropriate and cruel nativist immigration policy, and so very much more, as we have enumerated in prior writings. Notwithstanding the extensive list of these shameful misdeeds causing great damage to the nation and to the Office of the Presidency, due to his incompetent and impulsive rule, we see, yet, a far more devastating and enduring wound to the very heart of the nation; and that is his attack on, and disparagement of, that precious, systemic and irreplaceable commodity, truth.

We assume that the substantial social and political injury caused to our nation, domestically and internationally, by Trump’s sheer ineptitude and ignorance, in time, will be repairable by succeeding competent leaders. But, we fear, that spiritual damage to the basic systemic identity of our nation is so profoundly insidious, that full restoration and healing may not, be completely attainable. We again refer to the essential message of the “Honest Abe” and George Washington societal myths, which still have significant resonance, and are in stark contrast to Trump’s total disregard for, and frontal attack, upon truthfulness. Not unlike traditional and practical faith in marital fidelity, the subject of implicit citizen truthfulness had always been the normal assumption, and had never, until now, been a subject of discussion, but was always the natural, automatic assumption. Such an effectively damaging outcome could never have been accomplished by any well- financed propaganda campaign of a foreign enemy.

The conduct of the Trump presidency, from its outset, has shown little regard for veracity. His profound ignorance and complete lack of capacity for the position of America’s chief executive, complicated by an adolescent ego, seems to serve as an impassible roadblock, preventing Trump from accepting any guidance regarding his impulsive and perpetual mistakes. Accordingly, mendacity, inconsistency and subterfuge, continue to be his defensive strategies and main survival tactic. On a great many  occasions, he has, wearing the referenced mask, comfortably contradicted statements he made the very same day. Trump’s constant output of mendacity and sham, is loyally ratified, when needed, and called upon, by his chosen sycophants. It is the (legitimate) media such as the N.Y. Times and The Washington Post as well as the (long standing, dependable) news services, he persists in claiming, that are disseminating “fake news,” (a signature Trump defensive term) critical of his Presidency.

We are gravely concerned that the policy of glib, apparently super -confident, but false, statements of fact, on the part of, (no less) a President of the United States, may, conceivably, result in some degree of erosion of the previous American emblematic reverence for truth. We fear that in some subtle and gradual fashion, regular exposure to the President’s convenient, defensive tactics of mendacity, may acquire some measure of normalcy, the smallest degree of which, would surely constitute major, devastating injury to the traditionally understood American moral character.

Society cannot advance, nor can its citizenry strive for enhancement, unless the conduct of our lives is reliably unmasked, and proceeds in a milieu of mutual trust.

-p.

There have been various ways in which the current U.S. Administration has been artfully described. We would prefer comparing the shocking and unhealthy ascendency of Donald Trump et al. to America’s Oval Office, with an apt medical metaphor.

The Trump disease, like other virulent infections, once insinuated into the body politic, lost little time in effectively spreading its toxin. It appears that our body politic had no relevant antibodies nor immunity whatsoever, to address this unprecedented attack, accordingly, dire symptoms immediately began to noticeably manifest themselves and spread at an exponential rate.

The etiology of this dread disease, appears (to us) to have had its clinical onset by virtue of the following causative factors: 1. A general lack  of enthusiasm for the opposing candidate, 2. The organization and mobilization of the discontented, low-information, flat earth segment of our (generally non- voting) population, by tactical, demagogical and false promises  of a better life and a cleaner government ,and  3. The ample financing of the Trump campaign by billionaire entrepreneurs who, immorally, care far more for profits than they do for government regulations protecting the public.

Once the noxious biotic gained admittance into the national physiology, grave and immensely troubling symptoms began to present themselves, aggressively establishing a firm foothold and metastasizing at an exponential rate. These symptoms include: an alarming state of confusion regarding policy and government action, atrophied governing structure, including the appointment of a perverse cabinet and secretaries of governmental departments, the latter, generally ignorant as to the subject matter of their department, and in some cases, in manifest opposition to it, confused and unpredictable national and international policies (including trade), rejection of the findings of America’s top scientists concerning dangerous global warming, opposition to reasonable gun control laws and support of the NRA, disparagement of the nation’s trusted media (while engaging in a consistent policy of presidential mendacity), prejudicial treatment of women and woman’s  rights,(while engaging in personal acts of sexual abuse), damage to the  civil rights  movement by inappropriate statements and action, disparagement of all learning and academic endeavors generally, inhumane policies respecting immigration (in this nation of 100% immigrants and their progeny), lack of ethics, particularly those involving conflicts of interest, treasonous interaction with enemy countries, and  an embarrassing (world-wide) display of adolescent behavior in combination with a demonstrated show of shameful indiscretion and colossal ignorance.

This alarming and disabling disease, unless arrested and cured, has the potential for an Armageddon size impact upon our republican democracy, and warrants the immediate attention and vital concern, as would be appropriate to a sudden onset of a deadly plague.

However, we are pleased and greatly relieved to observe, lately that there are grounds for significant hope. Non-political agencies and investigative committees of our legislature are, at present, conducting proceedings which seek to fully uncover the dynamics of the inception of the disease, and appropriately deal with the responsible agents. Additionally, we have witnessed the women’s protest movement, as well as the huge public demonstrations of our young people, protesting the administration’s gun policy. It is hoped that these, and other spontaneous expressions of public opposition, will have the natural curative impact of white blood cells in eliminating this infection. The public seems at last, to be fully awakened to the dire need for political cure; we sincerely hope that it will be fully successful and will result in the production of such antibodies as will afford to our nation, a complete and permanent immunity to this catastrophic and dangerous illness.

-p.

 

In the eponymous children’s tale, Pinocchio, the puppet protagonist,  magically transformed into a” real-life boy,” joyfully returns to his father and (woodcarver) creator, Geppetto, but only after learning a painful lesson in naïve trust. The obvious lesson for all of us is to avoid blindly trusting in the representations of strangers who may not entertain our best interests.

Senior citizens, particularly the elderly, many of whom are physically confined to extensive sedentary periods, (during which television viewing is a frequent practice) are the most vulnerable to the Pinocchio-like lure of many shameful and tactically aimed television advertisements. The obvious and natural concerns of this segment of the public, health, finances and comfort, are tactically exploited by irresponsible, and avaricious advertisers, feigning concern and promising needed solutions.  We have selected two, as illustration, which we consider the most shameful and Pinocchio-like, targeted shamefully at the Senior Citizen.

• Purchases of Life Insurance Policies by Insurer:

This is a particularly reprehensible scenario which, unless one is desperately strapped for cash, should be avoided. The actuarial profession is specialized in the determination of the dollar amount of premium  to be charged to the insured, relative to the respective policy desired, based essentially upon his age. Naturally, the younger the policy holder, the longer is his future life expectation, and the larger the amount of premiums he will have paid prior to his decease, when the policy proceeds  are to be paid.; viz., the older the insured, the greater the premium.

Television advertisements featuring happy senior citizens, joyfully celebrating the receipt of proceeds received from the sale of their life insurance policies (back) to the Insurance company is, without doubt, a true Pinocchio scam. Older people are, as a matter of practicality and actuarial arithmetic, closer to the insured event, their demise, and the consequent pay-out of the face amount of the policy, to their designated beneficiary.  A sale back to the insurer of the policy, at such time, releases the insurer from  contracted obligation of payment of the proceeds of the insurance policy [for which you paid actuarially calculated premiums]. It releases the insurer but deprives your beneficiary of the paid for and intended benefit such insurance.  It is an unfair windfall to the insurer and a Pinocchian way to obtain needed financing.

• Reverse Mortgages. As every homeowner knows, the greater the total amount of mortgage payments made on the purchase money mortgage, the larger the amount of the equity owned in the home. People who reside in their home as their primary residence, and have attained the age of 62 (or older) may enter into a transaction by which they encumber their equity in the realty, for a loan against that accumulated equity, known as a “reverse mortgage,” while still, for whatever it is worth, remaining the “record title owners” until decease, or removal, when the “loan” becomes payable.

The Pinocchio style television pitch for this potentially questionable product has been made by a heavily mustached, older looking, tweedy and reverential, Tom Selleck, or by the established Delphic oracle of the senior citizen set, Alex Trebek. The purported benefit of this transaction is emphatically emphasized (getting needed money) but none of the vital details involved in these transactions are ever mentioned, in this indiscriminate, Pinocchian pitch. We, out of a sense of felt responsibility, have listed below, the major considerations and questions, pertaining in this type of transaction:

• Is there a charge or finder’s or origination fee, which may be submerged into payments under other designations in the transaction?
• What is the amount of the loan ( fair valuation of the equity).
• What is the interest rate? How is it calculated (or compounded) to the date of repayment (decease, removal or  sale).
• Are there family members residing in the realty, besides the named borrower?
• Is the borrower aware that taxes and insurance premiums remain his obligation?
• Is the borrower aware that all maintenance, upkeep and repairs are his obligation?
• Is the borrower aware that a breach of any obligation can result in foreclosure?

No one should enter into such a transaction without the advice of a family attorney or s other  qualified person, with, solely, the homeowner’s interest in mind.

There are several other instances of advertisers’ shameful elongations of the Pinocchian wooden nose, that we have been included in earlier writings. The potentially harmful practice of irresponsibly hawking medications to the public, knowing nothing of a potential purchaser’s medical history, or condition. [ One should (solely) rely upon his physician and not on potentially harmful advertisements.] Personal injury attorneys who advertise that no fee is payable, unless they get the client money [ as their shameful and unprofessional sales pitch] are not offering any special offer; the law specifically mandates that, in personal injury cases, no fee is payable unless there is a recovery.  Lastly, the assertion by any bankruptcy lawyer that bankruptcy “is a new beginning,” without revealing any future impact on the bankrupt’s future credit possibilities, is not revealing the entire picture.

We earnestly suggest that, to avoid being a modern- day Pinocchio, professional assistance should be selected only after reasonable inquiry, the advice of experienced friends, but, most assuredly, not from television commercials.

-p

The word “happiness” is a beautiful word in contemplation, but in practical terms, is impossible to rationally define or accurately describe. It is a useful term in philosophical or ethical parlance, yet, otherwise, the word and its conception, may be elusive and even potentially misleading. In too many instances, it has served as a fatal trap, or preoccupation, like the alchemist’s vain search for gold from base metals, or Ponce De Leon’s search for the fountain of youth; all inevitably, leading to frustration and defeat, and materially delaying any reasonable search for desirable attainment.

It has been the consistent mantra of this blog, that the pursuit of the nonspecific goal of “happiness” by external means, such as seeking it in alternative venues, or in new relationships, will only defeat, or at least, delay existing potential for joy and self-realization. Self-realization and satisfaction are essentially, internal phenomena, developed within the psyche of the individual over time, by the personal achievement of meaningful goals, leading to a sense of valued self- identity, and an enhanced self. We have all learned, through the media, that the attainment of “celebrity” status (widespread public recognition), or by the accumulation of expensive assets, such as Rolex watches, yachts, jewelry, and other externals, do not seem to do the trick. This is unhappily evidenced by the number of suicides and drug dependencies, reportedly attributable to many of our show business idols .Additionally, the drive for external success has proven to be disorienting and disappointing, once actually attained.

If one were (merely) to employ useful, alternate vocabulary, in lieu of the dreamy and ethereal designation, “happiness,” he will have taken an important first step toward the attainment of his aspirations for satisfaction and peace. We have consistently suggested the words, self-realization and personal enhancement, as appropriate and achievable designations for such ultimate life goals.

The acquisition of sought- after success and true joy in life, are manifested in satisfactory self-realization, personal enhancement, and at least a modicum of accumulated wisdom. The sense of self-realization is perhaps the sweetest success. It consists in a confident overall feeling that one has led a useful and productive life, perhaps in the pursuit of essential knowledge, understanding and wisdom. The pursuit of skills, capabilities, knowledge and, indeed, the appreciation of great literature and the humanities have been among the well-recognized routes to such attainment.

With apologies for an obvious reiteration, (since the principle is so vitally important) we maintain that the search for happiness in the external world is predictably unrewarding and, no doubt, greatly discouraging, since personal Identity and felt purpose are internal (psychological) phenomena.  The discovery of a worthwhile cause, a self-engrossing interest, literary, cultural, scientific, mechanical or natural, among others, can provide a beginning step towards satisfaction and self- fulfillment.

The impetus for such an engrossing life interest, or calling, may be discovered while ruminating in one’s favorite easy chair, sitting quietly in the library, during attendance at a lecture, in a visit to a museum or from the occurrence of an unusual personal experience. Its discovery can provide an ultimately rewarding addition to one’s life. The opportunity to explore and delve in depth into a subject, perhaps only barely apprehended previously, may be a fortuitous resource for the embracing of new dimensions in one’s life, and can provide that missing ingredient for self-fulfillment and ultimate joy. Those who travel the world in search of themselves, may, fortuitously, ultimately discover their long sought inner identity while at home.

-p.

It was just the other day that a mutual friend introduced us to an attractive, apparently intelligent person. Our initial impression was most positive, at least, until the moment she asked, in a serious voice, for our date of birth. One might safely assume, that at such brief initial meeting, she was not desirous of adding to her gift calendar, but undoubtedly was referring to the P.T. Barnum-like phenomenon, the horoscope. Unfortunately, our initial favorable impression was significantly affected.

William Shakespeare, in his classic play, “Julius Caesar,” speaking through his character, Cassius, in conversation with Brutus, famously states, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” The eternal truth of this admonition was eminently clear to Shakespeare, back in the days of the first Queen Elizabeth, yet still appears to not be fully accepted in our 21^st Century.

The ancient Babylonians, in the third millennium, B.C., divided the little known heavens into twelve signs of the zodiac, created accompanying symbols, and assigned to each of them respective date ranges, purportedly, indicative of predictive and analytical information. Surprisingly, many people, even today, persist in the practice of reliably referring to that cosmic calendar for information. They persist in the atavistic belief of its creators, that the sign’s indicated confluence of the position of the planets, at  one’s date of birth, is revelatory, of their personality, and  credible prospects for success or failure. In past writings, we have maintained that, assuming arguendo, there exists some mystic relationship between the date of one’s birth and the contemporaneous location of the planetary bodies [ as fanciful as that assumption may be] the exercise would, in any event, be completely valueless. Indeed, in the 21^st Century, we continue to puzzle over the architecture of outer space, even debating the existence of a small icy planet, in our own solar system, called, “Pluto”. Moreover, it was not until the (very grudging) acceptance of Copernicus’ heliocentric theory, in later medieval times, that man was acceptably apprised that the sun orbited around the earth, rather than the other way around [previously the universally mandated belief.] What, conceivably, could have been the extent of the primitive understanding concerning the location of the heavenly bodies, in the third millennium B.C?

We have previously written on the fertile subject of one’s own developed sense of identity and self- image, emphasizing the life-long (inner) “conversation” with ourselves, in the gradual formation of a consistent and personally acceptable persona .As we have stated, it is this latter formulation which governs the responsible nature of our moral choices and actions [ not the primitive concept of rewards and punishment.] One’s mature sense of personal identity defines his nature; certainly not some impersonal, populist, amusement feature.

Socrates taught the vital lesson “Know thyself.” We affirmatively comply with such admonition, by our consideration as to who we sense we are, our recollection of our defining past actions and considered choices; such constituents amounting, ultimately, to our reliably held self-image. This important consideration cannot be conjured up by some public newspaper feature, applicable to an entire anonymous public. Rather, true self- awareness is harvested from a life-time of personal experience.

Predicting the future is certainly hogwash; nonetheless, we can, as a rational matter, endeavor to take such actions, and engage in personally enhancingn activities, as would tend to promote our desired goals.

By its intrinsic its nature, man’s life occasionally presents difficult, equivocal choices. The most effective guide, is to apply his wisdom and his perception of past empirical experience, as the rational basis for making appropriate choices. We are wise not to, irresponsibly, seek easy solutions by consulting readily available, but misleading and unfounded advice, from third party public populist sources hawking horoscopes, trite and overvalued aphoristic formulae, or by the equally judicious practice of coin flipping.

-p.

In this note we will not again emphasize the tragic damage to life and civilized society by the persistent misreading of the Second Amendment, whether reductionist or intentional. Those who are willing to consult our Colonial History, know that in Europe, nobles traditionally had their own private standing armies. When our Federal Republic was created, we had no noblemen to contend with, but many of the several colonies (States) did have private militias. The founders agreed, as part of the negotiations leading up to the formation of our new nation, that the people’s militias would not be eliminated  or incorporated into the federal army, but would continue to be recognized as legal and independent entities, with the right of these armies of “the people”, to bear arms.

Issues concerning disputed meaning and application of legislation have been, and still are, resolved by reference to the factually expressed intention of the legislators. It is shameful that so many citizens ignore factual history (as well as societal responsibility) and have made a veritable religion of gun ownership. It appears that any religion, by its intrinsic nature, existentially, needs to reject empirical fact. However important and unjust this phenomenon may be, this note is not about correcting history. We are here concerned with the nature of the bizarre human desire to own lethal equipment, from a moral and psychological view and what it may reveal concerning man’s persona.

Homo sapiens received many generous gifts from evolution, among which was an advanced brain and evolved hands, the latter featuring an opposable thumb and flexible fingers. Gun worshippers, it would appear, would like us to believe that one of these useful digits was anthropologically pre- destined to serve as a trigger finger.

We do, admittedly, possess a small pocket knife, which happens to be useful for cutting string and fishing line, for whittling, for slicing meat or fruit and other pacific functions. The  entire array of possible applications of a gun is limited to only one use, to kill. Religionists know that the most drastic admonition in the Ten Commandments is, “Thou shalt not kill.” Apart from the legal societal considerations, it appears impossible for us to fathom the mentality of those Americans who see themselves as moral and societally upstanding, yet adamantly and shamelessly, demand  the franchise to own a death dealing instrument. Many of such citizens incidentally, carry the religious banner of “Right to Life.”

Are there extant, any rational Americans who could sincerely maintain that our philosophically, peace-loving Founders sought to create a democratic republic where “equality under the law” was inclusive of the right of every citizen to be a gunslinger? Can the desire to possess equipment capable of committing homicide, be more essential and justifiable than the sacred preservation of life?

America’s High School Students, have recently shown that they have the right answers.

-p.

 

 

 

As officially recorded in the official planetary record, “Milky Way Register,” eternally and responsibly maintained by the designated Board of Extra- Terrestrial Trustees of the Galaxy, planet Moon, in recent eons, experienced a profound catastrophic and permanent decline to the tragic and lifeless status of a mere reflective Satellite. This solar system tragedy had been surprising and disappointing to the Trustees, especially considering Planet Moon’s previous history evincing a lush, verdant landscape, teeming with a seemingly endless variety of life forms, inclusive of a substantial population of sentient beings. It was uniformly observed by all Trustees, with much concern, that the sentient inhabitants of Planet Moon, (which was formed eons before Planet Earth) despite differences in physical appearance with the earthly homo sapiens, nevertheless, bore many similarities with them in their persona.

With some numerically insignificant exceptions, the vast mainstream of the (now extinct), sentient lunar citizens, had reverently worshipped the Sun Goddess. A fissure, however, eventually developed between those who maintained that prayer services to the Goddess were properly conducted at sunrise, while other equally adamant believers insisted that the Goddess, required sunset devotions. Courts of inquisition and centuries of zealous bloody conflict ensued, resulting in casualties and great suffering. The ultimate victors, the sunrise people, banished the survivors of the vanquished sunset sect, to the dark side of the planet, necessarily incarcerated in mobile prisons which were capable of movement, synchronized with the daily shifts in location of the dark area of the lunar planet.

The victorious sunrise sect was deeply religious, maintaining that dedicated and unquestioned faith in the Sun Goddess was all that was required for existential survival. Accordingly, they vehemently and legally repressed any challenge to parochial thought, most especially condemning those miscreants who subversively engaged in “irreligious” scientific inquiry. Such discouragement was socially enforced by means of shunning, and where persistent, the penalty of banishment to the dark side.

Braving the great danger, some lunar intellectuals, secretly and persistently, carried on their studies of the lunar planet, its proximate atmosphere and its inhabitants. They were dismayed to learn that, after a great many decades of irresponsible and thoughtless industrial activity, as well as careless lifestyle of the lunar inhabitants, its rivers and streams, air, and drinking water had become dangerously polluted and was a lethal hazard for every living organism and, as well, a cause of defilement of the ambient atmosphere. Courageous attempts to inform the lunar authorities and population of these lethal dangers were disbelieved (even punished) by a society which had no tolerance for “revolutionary” doubt as to their sole reliance upon the Sun Goddess.  Such ignorance and rigid adherence to superstitious faith, apparently, overcame any willingness to consider proven and empirical findings.

As the centuries progressed, the lunar population began to observe unforeseen and unnatural climatic changes, floods, major erosion and undermining of coastlines, noticeable loss of plant and animal life and assorted health problems. However, it was tolerant of such ominous phenomena based upon its unwavering faith and presumed assurance that it was the will of the Sun Goddess. Any attempts at study and amelioration of such conditions, were deemed an atheistic betrayal and severely prohibited.

The Galaxy Trustees reported that the ultimate result was that Planet Moon rapidly declined to the neutral condition of a visibly dry and lifeless rock, a satellite, whose sole significance resides in its property, as a solid, stony mass, to reflect some evening sunlight to Planet Earth. The shameful predominance of populist superstitious belief and intransigent ignorance, over empirical reality, had ultimately resulted in the demise of the planet itself, together with its flora and fauna [ inclusive of its ardent religionists.]

Such Is the tragic chronicle of our formerly witless planetary neighbor.

Wishing another happy and verdant Spring to our earthling readers, and many more.

-p.

Even the occasional follower of plinyblog would be familiar with the high level of distain and repugnance we maintain, and have energetically expressed, regarding aphoristic “wisdom”; as being arrogant and, misleading; an objectionable source of faux enlightenment or, worse, as a lazy determinant of equivocal decision making. However, in the rare instance, it can have some limited utility as an expressive metaphor. Our such aphoristic metaphor du jour is, “one rotten apple spoils the barrel.” In partial mitigation of this choice, we would humbly point out that the statement is purportedly experiential and not instructive. [Its principal defect, however, may reside in its arbitrary application.]

We take the liberty of metaphorically referring to the barrel as our American society and the rotten apple (no surprise) to the Orange Magnificence, and his royal entourage, currently infesting the Oval Office. At this time in our nation’s history, there are a myriad of vital, historic issues urgently requiring continued progress toward their resolution, which, apparently, have been shelved, pending the reign of this incompetent and amoral (former) game show host. We refer to some illustrative examples.

• Racial equality. Bigotry continues, in many quarters, to rear its loathsome head. The nation’s efforts, statutory, judicial and social, to achieve equality for all Americans, irrespective of racial or ethnic identity, have shown significant progress, but the issue still remains a work in process, especially in the areas of legal justice, residential choice, employment, even voting rights. But we have been talking about it.
• Gender Equality. Some of the figurative glass ceiling has been shattered, yet significant issues persist, in the arena of equal pay for equal work, a woman’s right to volitional decision regarding childbirth, sexual abuse, social stereotypes and other such inequalities; but we were talking.
• Government assistance to the needy. The preservation of an empathic approach to governance, “compassionate capitalism”, is not only moral and socially ethical, but is a philosophy that, in fact, insures the successful continuance of the free enterprise system by making it humane. Rather than relegate unfortunate members of society to the cold, dispassionate operation of natural law, a la Adam Smith, there is a recognized appropriate and moral governmental obligation of compassion. Some more fortunate citizens oppose governmental assistance to the justifiably needy, labeling such compassionate responsibility with their perceived and negative epithet of “socialism,” a construct of which, in their profound ignorance, they are completely ignorant. But most of us had been all talking about it.
• It is profoundly disappointing, that in this acknowledged nation of immigrants and their descendants (E Pluribus Unum), that we have citizens who too soon forget their own family’s past history of immigration to America. Some, strangely, following a generation or so, after settling in, become nativist.  How coldly selfish, and how soon they forget. But we were talking about the issue.
• Economic disparity. It is empirically inarguable that the nation is divided into economically disparate societies. The top percent in terms of lifestyle, comfort, leisure activities, economic security, and the luxurious amenities attendant upon great wealth, reside in enclaves insulated socially and economically from the great majority of the American population; most especially the middle and lower classes. The subjects of amelioritive tax policy, health benefits, social security and a host of other real- life adjustments have been considered and tried, in the effort to improve the lives of those in the lower economic classes. These considerations were also contested, but we were talking about them.
• Other salient issues, International trade and relations, robotization, gun control, unemployment, climate change, flood control, housing, the renewal and repair of infrastructure, in general, including, roads and bridges, schools, educational criteria and tuition costs, medical and scientific research, gay rights, military readiness and policy, health and safety regulations ( their promulgation and enforcement), clean drinking water, monetary and banking policy, disability policies, sanctions against foreign miscreants, and so many other cogent issues were universally contested, but we were, in fact, talking about all of them.

Since the ascendency of Donald J. Trump [ together with his Mad Hatter entourage] to the Oval Office, it appears that the entire myriad of vital issues, previously, the subject of needed study and discussion, have taken a back seat to an embarrassing, daily soap opera, starring that former glitzy television game show host, now amazingly attired in the transmogrified robes of the leader of the nation and the entire free world.

The text book aspiration of the neurotic, attention-seeking, adolescent, is to attract attention,  focused, exclusively upon him, even at the cost of anticipated punishment. Our Adolescent-in-Chief would seem to reliably fit this diagnosable, unhealthy criterion. Woe unto the nation.

In this goal (alone) Trump has been a great and unprecedented success. Attention has been concentrated on him, to the exclusion of everyone, and everything else.  There has been an inundation, a veritable tsunami of Trumpery, offering little escape or relief. Vital discussions on poverty, disease, racial inequality, gender neutrality, inequities in the justice system, science and medicine, aging infrastructure, employment, banking, indeed, every subject social, scientific, cultural or sociological, have been submerged many fathoms below the never-ending saga, concerning the life and times of Donald J. Trump. Every media outlet, television, radio, newspapers and magazines, seem to be mono-  focused on this side-show oddity, to the total exclusion of every other subject; amounting to a sociological black plague (or is it orange) of unprecedented proportion. Like bloody road kill, eyes are drawn to it, willingly or not.  A television break from Jane Austen or Henry James, these days, limits us to the Nature and Sci-Fi channels.

One hopes that the dustbin of American history will not long be redolent with the odor of rotten apple.

-p.