The Common Goodness

First, a word of caution: this is not written to be amusing but, rather, to get you to think.

René Descartes (1596 - 1650) felt skepticism was not only healthy but necessary to better understand the world and society in which we live.

John Locke (1632 - 1704) included in his arguments the concept that the rights of all minorities must be protected for a government to be truly representative of the people it governed.

Jean-Jaques Rousseau (1712 - 1758) believed that people are inherently good, fair, and moral. These “natural” traits are corrupted, he thought, by bad government. He wrote, “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” A just and fair society and government, he thought, would help man break those chains.

These philosophers were only a few of the people who wrote extensively during the Enlightenment period on the roles of the individual and the government and how the two must interact to create a just and sustainable society. The men who acted as the driving forces behind our revolution against England were very familiar with the teachings and philosophies of the Enlightenment.

Today, we have people who know nothing about these philosophers, their teachings, or how they influenced the thinking of the founders of our nation and yet make a lot of speeches claiming to know what the Founding Fathers really meant when they wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. (They also often get these two documents confused, citing the ideas of one and attributing them to the other.)

Although the philosophers of the Enlightenment often disagreed on how a government should be structured, they did agree for the most part on two very important concepts: It is up to the individual to be educated in what is going on in the society of which he or she is a part and it is up to the government of that society to protect and insure the rights and liberties of all its citizens.

That’s a pretty basic concept and one that is easy to understand. So, why do so many politicians today fail to understand it? Why do so many of them think it is government’s job to secure the power, and protect the investments, of corporations at the expense of the health and well being of not only the people they are supposed to represent but, also, the nation they claim to love?

If I’m wrong in believing too many elected officials (and those seeking election) owe their allegiance to those who invest in their campaigns and offer them future employment and/or remuneration, how else do you explain their support of laws that harm the quality of our food, water, and air, or oppose laws that would ensure the quality of our lives? How else do you explain laws that reward corporations that fire employees here and outsource their jobs to companies in other countries where the labor laws are more lax and the salaries and cost of benefits are lower? How else do you explain their support of laws that make it more difficult for certain sectors of our society to even vote? Many members of Congress still refuse to even consider eliminating tax subsidies to corporations that make more profit in one year than the gross national product of many countries.

A couple of years ago, I heard one of the most influential national radio show hosts encourage his listeners to not listen to President Obama’s State of the Union address. He said he will tell them what the president said and what it really meant. In other words, “Don’t think for yourself. Don’t get the facts and try to understand them. It’s much easier if you let me tell you what you should think.” He’s the same person who, before the 2008 Democratic National Convention, said he wants to see riots in the streets, cars overturned and in flames in the hope that this violence will prevent the Democratic candidate from winning the election. He referred to this as “Operation Chaos”. Did the politicians he supported speak out against him or even his call for violence? No. Did they insist he issue an apology to the people of Denver or the Democratic National Committee? Again, no.

Another conservative radio show host stated more recently, “If we don’t win with ballots, we’ll win with bullets.”

I don’t remember hearing any politicians supported by this radio show hostess denounce her statement.

As Thomas Paine said, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Today, we have to decide if we are for the improvement of the lives of all Americans or higher profits for the corporations, many of which aren’t even registered in the US.

(Thanks to AT for reminding me of the importance of copyright notices.)

Useless Things People Say

Useless Things People Say

There are a lot of things in my world that confuse me. Some, of course, are more important (and, therefore, more confusing) than others. The purpose of this blog is to give me a forum in which I can explore some of these confusing aspects of life from my point of view. There are a number of reasons I’m putting this out on the Internet in this form. I’m hoping I’m not the only one who reads this and at least one or two others will feel strongly enough, whether in agreement or disagreement, to comment on my rants. Also, I can annoy everyone at one time instead of having to do it one person at a time. No one can interrupt me while I’m going on about something and no one can derail my thought process by interrupting me. (I derail very easily.) I don’t have to talk about something if I find the topic boring. (This is starting to sound like a Jackie Mason routine on why he prefers to talk to himself.)

Sometimes, my entries will be written with the hope of entertaining or even causing you to smile. Other times, they will be more serious and written with the hope of making you think and question.

This first entry is about something I admit is totally unimportant and just a personal peeve of mine.

People will often say things that are totally useless or completely unhelpful. The other day, I bumped into something and my wife said, “Be careful!” A little late for that. Or, if someone trips over something, someone else will invariably yell, “Watch out!” Thank you for the advice but a minute or two earlier would have been more helpful.

Then, there are the statements people make that are just flat out annoying. A few weeks ago, my wife and I went to an “oldies” concert. The lead singer of one of the groups ended his introduction to the next song with, “And it goes something like this.” If he’s not sure how it goes, why is he singing it? If he really wants to sing it, why didn’t he rehearse it more so he knows exactly how it goes?

And then there are those who know they’re about to say something obvious but feel a need to say it anyway. They even announce the fact they’re going to say something you don’t need to hear by starting with, “Needless to say, ...”. The equally nonsensical companion to that is, “It goes without saying ...”. I wish it did but you know it’s going to be said anyway.

Another “favorite” of mine is people who will say something useless you and everyone else know isn’t true. For example, they’ll tell you something they know is hurtful by first saying, “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but...” You can tell they don’t really hate saying it by the smile on their face. Well, maybe that phrase isn’t totally useless. When you hear it, you know that person is about to say something you really don’t want to hear. You can prepare yourself for it or even avoid it completely by smacking them in the mouth before they have the chance to say it. Your defense could be, “I did it for your own good. I didn’t want you to have to say something you hate saying. Now, needless to say, you’re not going to say it.”

(All pictures posted here are my own and I hold all rights. You may not download and/or use any of them without written permission from me.)