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MY BLOGS
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The Rational Optimist
http://www.rationaloptimist.wordpress.com/
Commentary of Life, Society, Politics, and Philosophy
LATEST ARTICLES ( 1455 )
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Frontline — How MAGA Maggots Ate the GOP
PBS’s recent Frontline documentary, Lies, Politics and Democracy, I thought would just be old hat. Instead it was a compelling and revealing eye-opener.For six... Read more
Posted on 13 September 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Faulkner on Race
I’ve written about William Faulkner (1897-1962) as my favorite novelist. A Mississippian, his books were all set there, between Civil War times and the early... Read more
Posted on 10 September 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Metaphysical Club: Religion and Democracy
When single, I jumped on a personal ad saying “interested in ideas.” But on our date, the gal seemed no intellectual. I asked what she’d meant by “interested... Read more
Posted on 06 September 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Goodbye Gorby
Mikhail Gorbachev was the most consequential personage of the 20th century’s latter half. And in a good way.Now that is really saying something. The 21st... Read more
Posted on 04 September 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
“Riots in the Streets”
Senator Lindsay Graham, the on-again-off-again toady, foresees “riots in the streets” if Trump is prosecuted for stealing classified documents. Read more
Posted on 01 September 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Assholes — A Theory
“Well, he’s got the asshole vote,” I remarked to my wife early in 2016. “But are there enough assholes?”Now I’ve read Aaron James’s book, Assholes — A Theory.... Read more
Posted on 28 August 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
“Evil Geniuses – The Unmaking of America – A Recent History”
Kurt Andersen’s 2020 book is about “political economy.” He argues that ours went from being basically fair to unfair, the turning point around 1980. Read more
Posted on 25 August 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Soccer Life Lessons
I am the least sports-minded person on Earth, but here’s a thing I can confidently say most soccer champs do wrong.You’re about to take a penalty kick. The... Read more
Posted on 22 August 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Liz Cheney at the Alamo
Liz Cheney’s politics are orthodox conservative. She believes in the Constitution, democracy, rule of law, and truth. But unlike almost every other Republican... Read more
Posted on 19 August 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Trumpers’ Heroic Persecution Fantasy
Trump cultists’ rabid reaction to the FBI search warrant is revealing. They don’t just see him under threat; they see themselves under threat. Read more
Posted on 16 August 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Last Rose of Shanghai
Shanghai, 1940. The Japanese have ravaged through much of China; they’re in Shanghai, but don’t (yet) control its international settlement. Read more
Posted on 14 August 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Mar-a-Lago Search — Republican Hypocrisy Incandescent
Trumpworld is foaming at the mouth in paroxysms of outrage over the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search, screeching that it’s an improper “weaponizing” of government agains... Read more
Posted on 11 August 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
David McCullough 1933-2022
David McCullough was a great American. Just weeks ago I read his little 2017 book, The American Spirit – Who We Are and What We Stand For. I did so because I... Read more
Posted on 09 August 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
The Ignorance Epidemic
Keenya Oliver Bemis, who teaches high school biology in Schenectady, gave a talk to my local humanist group based on Natalie Wexler’s book, The Knowledge Gap –... Read more
Posted on 06 August 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Open Marriage?
I remember the Pecks’ first time at a local humanist gathering. Very ordinary looking dull folks, I thought. I remember that because deeper acquaintance has... Read more
Posted on 03 August 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Consciousness Revisited
At the used book sale, I explained, “I’m buying this because I debated this author on this subject.”It was David Gelernter, Yale professor and computer science... Read more
Posted on 30 July 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
My Full English Breakfast Dinner, and Hot Doggerel
Watching some TV show with my wife, we heard the words “full English breakfast.” And, just being goofy, I piped up, “I’d like a full English breakfast.”“What ar... Read more
Posted on 28 July 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Cry, The Beloved Country: South Africa
The story was too good to be true. South Africa’s white-minority “apartheid” regime, oppressing the Black majority, was long decried. Then F.W. de Klerk, a... Read more
Posted on 24 July 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Sleep and Body Rhythms
Sleep’s important role in health and longevity has grown increasingly apparent. Sleep well nightly and you put off the Big Sleep.I was a sickly kid. But now,... Read more
Posted on 21 July 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY -
Understanding Mass Shootings
Yes — another droplet spit into the vast ocean of verbiage on this topic.We think shooters are nut cases. Obviously they’re not normal. But “mental illness” is... Read more
Posted on 18 July 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY
