occasional reflections on culture & politics
We are living in a world with many dangers, threats and uncertainties. And yet, panic, fear or depression would be the wrong answer. The only thing that really helps anyone is cautious optimism. You may ask, how can you be optimistic? It is a legitimate question. On the surface, I seem to be worried about… Continue reading #202: Fear Not: Why We Need to be Optimistic About the Future
I NEED TO BELIEVE Corvallis, October 9th, 2022 – P#786 I need to believethat beneath all this sorrowbeneath all this painand all this senseless senselessnessis waiting a future timemuch better than the current onewaitingto be bornout ofallthis I need to believebecause without this beliefthere would be nothingkeeping mefrom seeking madnessrather than sanityand desperationrather than resilienceand… Continue reading #196: Poem: I Need to Believe
A lot of things are labeled as “woke” nowadays. Contrary to the original intention of the word itself, the very term “woke” has become a caricature, a word that is meant to now quickly dismiss whatever is termed as such. Someone is called out for what could be understood as an insensitive or insulting remark,… Continue reading #179: Ecce Homo: Wokeness Beyond Caricatures
A great deal of scorn and dismay is currently heaped on a movement or way of thinking that describes itself as “being woke” or “wokeness.” The terminology itself may shift, especially when faced with an onslaught of ongoing critique or with attempts to use it for corporate purposes. Certainly, it is easy to ridicule any… Continue reading #90: In Defense of “Wokeness”
The Pandemic has made me a bit nervous. As a consequence, I have felt it to be difficult to concentrate on any new form of entertainment, and have chosen – as I understand, like millions of other people – to revisit some older shows or formats that are still familiar. This has led me to… Continue reading #87: Stargate as Classical Science Fiction
It is probably human nature to be tribalistic, to be focused on supporting “your” side or team. This can sometimes limit our ability to cooperate with the “other” side. It also creates a false dichotomy, in which we can think only about two sides to any issue, even though there may be more. One way… Continue reading #45: Benefit of the Doubt
Allegedly, Russia has no Coronavirus, but a rise in pneumonia cases. You certainly know what means. We know China lied about the outbreak, and it is safe to assume they will continue to lie, and they certainly are making sure no journalist is telling the truth. Iran and China try to pin the outbreak to… Continue reading #11: Authoritarian Governments Must Lie, and Democracies are Grown-Up Systems
There is this anecdote that on July 4th 1776, King George wrote into his Journal "Nothing is Happening Today." These were the times without instant worldwide communications, and surely, he could not have known what had just happened in the American colonies. And as most such famous quotes go, it very probably is not true,… Continue reading #10: Corona, or, Nothing Important Is Happening Today
Erratic Attempts 