Is the United States really in danger of succumbing to authoritarianism? The internet and mainstream media abound with fearful speculation. Does the pandemic and economic chaos increase this danger? An authoritarian mentality is indeed present among the population. A study … [Read more...] about Don’t Let America Betray Herself
Consciousness
Living and Dying with Coronavirus
As Covid-19 prowls the streets and venues of Michigan, my wife Teresa and I are holed up in our house in a quiet neighborhood on the west side of Ann Arbor. We’re safe and healthy and keeping each other good company. She’s been sewing face masks from high-end quilting cotton. … [Read more...] about Living and Dying with Coronavirus
The Joy of Militant Ignorance
Human beings are highly resistant to acquiring self-knowledge. Our ego, the turtle shell of our mind, readily embraces willful, even militant, ignorance as self-protection against the humbling reality of how we instigate and then cover-up our participation in self-defeating … [Read more...] about The Joy of Militant Ignorance
Learning to See Ourselves Objectively
In one of his great poems, Robert Burns generously recognized wee Mousie, “earth-born companion, an’ fellow-mortal!” In another poem, he wrote (as rendered in modern English), “Oh would some Power the gift give us / to see ourselves as others see us!” Yes, that would … [Read more...] about Learning to See Ourselves Objectively
How You Can Save the World
I cringe at the thought of being cursed by future generations for not doing enough to stem the environmental degradation of our planet. My hope is they’ll just call me stupid and refrain from searing a big X—a token of eternal shame—upon any trace of my existence. My … [Read more...] about How You Can Save the World