Life On A B-I7

Postcards

I’m filling out Postcards for Swing States. Strangely, it’s fun and relaxing. I’m doing something to help the outcome of the election rather than worry about it. A nice benefit of this activity is that it makes me feel connected to other people. I don’t know what their affiliation is, or how they will be voting. Obviously I will never know the outcome of my efforts. Still, I’m satisfied that I am making a connection, even if it is something as simple as a postcard. The message I’m sending is going out to voters in Wisconsin. It reads:

Dear [first name]
Please Vote in the Nov 5
Election to save Wisconsin’s
favorite programs from
Republican attack!
Best, Brad

Those are the words chosen by the campaign organizers. I think they are good and deliver a good message. If it were up to me, I think the word “attack” could use a bit of clarification. What Republicans are doing is worse than attack, they are trying to restructure America by perverting its values and they are doing it through the use of lies rather than factual argument.

Done

Donald Trump presents the greatest threat to this country since its founding and independence from Britain. The current situation is worse than any war in our history because the attach he has launched is coming from within. I hope I never see anything worse than this in what remains of my lifetime, and I hope what we are going through ends (at least the worst part of it) on November 5th. I hope this for the sake of my children.

Cats and People

Do I love my cat more than I love people? That’s a fair question. Given the current world that we live in, I would have to give that a qualified yes.

I am aware of the fact that cats and people are not the same. I would even admit (if pressed) that cats should not be given the same lofty status that we give to our fellow human beings. Status aside, I can’t think of an instance when my cat has disappointed me. People disappointment me now more than at any point in my life.

I’m tired of being disappointed by people. I’m tired of division, strife and argument. I’m tired of the challenges that people present, most of them unnecessary. I want people to think more like cats. I want people to love each other the way my cat loves me… without question.

My Cat (continuare)

My cat loves me.
I pet him and I can tell he appreciates my stokes.
He reciprocates by reaching his paw out.
He places his head on my hand.
I kiss him on the forehead
And he reaches out to me with both forepaws.
I would give my world to talk to him.
Stroking his head will have to do.

He lays down on top of the book I am reading.
He knows how to get my attention.
Somehow, he knows what I am afraid to do,
show affection and demand the same in return.
He is content to be here.
I am content to be with him.
I know I will miss him when he is gone.
I think he will miss me too.

I hope there is a place where we can walk together
And share our deepest thoughts, one with another.
As much as I hope for that
I don’t know if it works that way.

I will find out someday, or not.

Rome is burning and the New York Times is playing a fiddle.

Tragedy

“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”

—Winston Churchill

Determining what is fitted to your talents is up to you. I believe it can be something as simple as a smile. The important part of this message is to be on the lookout for that moment. If you allow that moment to pass you by, that is a tragedy.

A perfect example of someone’s finest hour is Liz Cheney speaking out against the threat to democracy posed by the Republican Party in the upcoming election.

Self-Conceit

“What is the first business of one who practices philosophy? To get rid of self-conceit. For it is impossible for anyone to begin to learn that which he thinks he already knows.”

—Epictetus

Well, that should also be the first business of anyone that practices politics. That is obviously contrary to the current view of what is the business of the Republican Party in America.

Leadership

George Washington’s leadership style was “listen, learn, and help, then lead.”

When you meet someone that has all the answers, doesn’t listen, is not curious or show any desire or ability to learn and never lends a helping hand but only blames others, you have met a person that is the antithesis of a leader.

Humility

You can tell when someone is humble, and when they think they are special. Unfortunately that is a skill that a lot of voters appear not to possess. It leaves me wondering why this is such a difficult skill to acquire. The only reason I can come up with is because people that don’t possess this attribute also lack the ability to look at themselves critically and ask, what can I do to make myself better. If that is indeed the case, it appears this is a problem impacting society in general in this day and age.

Free Exercise of Religion

In so far as abortion is a religious conviction, either pro or con, the government has no role in either prohibiting or establishing a right to the same. This is guaranteed to all citizens under the First Amendment. This means that the government can neither condone nor forbid the practice. Whether or not to engage in the practice falls upon the individual, not the state. Since all States are bound to uphold the Constitution, neither the States nor the Federal Government have jurisdiction to dictate to citizens their freedom of choice in regard to this matter.

The 25th Amendment to the Constitution

Section 4.

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Let us pray that J.D. Vance is up to the task. My only reservation is that he would make a less than ideal replacement for his predecessor.

Knowledge Forgotten

States are doomed when
they are unable to distinguish
the good men from the evil.

—Antisthenes

I love her.
She completes me.
That’s not to say I fulfill her.
I don’t know the answer to that.

Perhaps I should wait until she writes a poem that answers that question.

No.
That’s a waste of time.
I will love her as long as she lets me love her.
That is enough.

Concerned

Even though this is an online journal, it doesn’t matter what I say because no one reads it. Even the person closest to me doesn’t read this, and that’s okay, I don’t take it personally. In fact, it’s probably a lot healthier for everyone that way. Journals should only be read posthumously anyway.

I’m very concerned. I’ve been bothered for the last month. I should have started being bothered seven years ago, I’m always the last to the party. Now that we are approaching the most critical election in the history of our country, I’m scared shitless.

The Republican candidate is a deranged idiot. I marvel at how few (at least as far as I can see) people seem to agree with that. For goodness sake, he’s selling limited edition watches to make money for himself, and he’s pitching them in his own voice. If you listen to his adverts, the syntax and grammar is that of a sixth grader. It’s hard to imagine why the Republican Party would stand behind a candidate like this. (That’s another topic entirely.)

I don’t have an answer to that. I’m not smart enough to answer that question. I am smart enough to realize that our country is in grave danger should he be elected to the highest office. There has been a presumption throughout our history that the leader of our country would be a man of conscience. We may not always agree as a people with our approach to problem solving, but the presumption has always been that the leader would be reasonable, intelligent, and responsible. That is not the case with the Republican Candidate.

I cannot bring myself to say his name. For me, that is akin to swearing.

It is poetic and apropos that his opponent is a woman. I’m not surprised that when the outcome is truly hanging in the balance, it is a woman that should rise to the occasion to save our souls. I just hope that is what happens.

A Political Genera

Doves
Surround themselves with doves.

Hawks
Surround themselves with hawks.

Idiots
Surround themselves with sycophants.

Day #365

The project “A Year of Living Thoughtfully” is over. That does not mean living thoughtfully has ended (with any luck).

The effort put into this project over the last 365 days has reaffirmed that every day should be a day for thoughtfulness. It does not have to be remarkable, most of what I have taken the time to share on these pages has been unremarkable. My ambition for these pages was for them to be instructive to me. If you take away anything from this effort, That makes me happy.

My next project should probably be “A Year of Living Grammatically.” Goodness knows I could benefit from a project like that. I don’t know if there will even be another project. I have enjoyed this writing and I intend to keep on writing for as long as I can. Nothing long-form, that’s not my bag. If the urge ever magically struck me, I would certainly listen, just don’t hold your breath.

My wish for you is that you too can find a project or an activity that brings you peace, satisfaction, and progress toward a personal goal, no matter how small the progress nor how small the goal.

Day #364

Who votes for Donald Trump? Insecure white men for sure. (That includes Christian Nationalists from Idaho.) The election of 2024 has become a referendum on race, gender, and all manner of life choices. (It was in fact even prior to Vice-President Kamala Harris entering the race.) The country has been leaning towards toxic masculinity for the last decade or so, and the trend continues. This is not just a United States phenomenon but is being echoed around the globe.

A fireman in Greece asked me who I was going to vote for in November. I like to keep face-to-face, political, discussions, lighthearted, so I told him Harris because “Trump is crazier than I am.” he replied to me, in all seriousness, saying Trump was the better choice of the two. I probably should’ve pursued the conversation a bit further, but frankly, I wasn’t interested. It’s probably rash of me to assume that all firemen are the same everywhere in the world (I’m sure that’s not true) but I found his answer reflective, if not at least typical of his profession. What did surprise me is that this was coming from someone living in a country whose economy could be seriously harmed by the election of Trump.

I find it difficult to fight back against such absurd views.

I consider myself a liberal, not in the sense of whom I should vote for, but in the sense espoused by the post enlightenment philosopher John Stewart Mill. That is, someone who believes in standing for the rights of individuals, consent of the governed, political equality, private-property rights, and equality before the law. nowhere in Mills political thought did the role of race or gender come into consideration.

Day #363

Cribbage

I spent a good bit of time playing cribbage with my dad when he was in assisted-living. He taught me the game and he was patient with me. I’ve never been a good card player. I appreciated the fact that he enjoyed playing with me and I enjoyed playing with him. He beat me regularly. I was fine with that. I wasn’t really there to play cards, I was there to be with him. I think he knew that was what was going on and I think he appreciated that.

I remember as a kid, I would ask him to play catch with me. I would do my best to throw the ball perfectly but if I didn’t hit him right in the chest, after the third or fourth miss he would say “we’re done”. That was earlier in life. By the time we were playing cribbage, I think he realized that patience is a virtue. At least I assume he did because I actually won from time-to-time.

I’m teaching my partner to play Cribbage and I haven’t won a game yet. I must suck pretty bad at it…

Opportunities

The time of life is short!
To spend that shortness basely were too long
If life did not ride upon a dial’s point
Still ending at the arrival of an hour.

—Shakespeare

Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg’s favorite quote.

We’re not here for a long time, so kick ass and take names. I suppose that’s not the best way to look at it, but it gets the message across. Take advantage of the opportunities you receive. If not a lot of opportunities come your way, that’s okay because you should also be making yourself the best person you can while taking advantage of the opportunities you do receive.

The Law

Let me lay this out very simply.

Textualist interpretation of the law is nothing more than an excuse to dictate whatever purpose you see fit in the moment.

That is not a responsible way to interpret the law. That interpretation ignores evolution (cats included). It is an excuse to mask your personal bias (owned or sold). That sort of thinking leads to dire consequences for society.

Sit Down

I told the cat to sit down then I sat down myself…

“Do not explain your philosophy. Embody it.”

—Epictetus

Cats

Cats are probably smarter than we are.

They were left on earth by Aliens milennia ago. Sadly, the Aliens forgot to give them the proper skills needed to communicate with us. That tiny oversight has, sadly enough, prevented the highest evolution of human intelligence from being obtained…

Guitar

If you could do one thing before you die, what would that be? For me most likely… at this point in time… it would be to learn to play the guitar. Why? That is a very good question. I think it is because music is the one thing that can move me to cry. Cry with joy, cry with love for someone, cry just to fucking cry.

Why not learn other things? You should! Never stop learning! It’s a damn shame this life ends. Imagine how smart you might become if you could live for say 500 or 1,000 years? However, that’s not how it works. I sometimes wonder if thinking people (sometimes referred to as intellectuals) didn’t create the concept of god simply to give someone (if not themselves) the opportunity to learn more?

Thank God no one reads this blog…

How to Break a Political Party

How do you get someone to bend to your will?

Feed them what they want to hear, especially things that they already have a desire to listen to. If you can master that technique, you can rule the world.

How do you do the right thing when it comes to life?

Always work to educate yourself as well as others. Don’t insist that people believe what you do, convince them with facts and examples of what the potential consequences might be.

As an aside, my cat takes no convincing, he hangs on my every word. The number of people that take no convincing are few and far between…

Day #362

A new science has recently been born, comparative thanatology. How animals react to individuals that are dying or are close to dying, and what that behavior says about how animals relate to death.

I find this interesting in light of that fact that I now am living with a pet that is, or soon will be, facing his own end of life. Hopefully of course, I will not precede him, that said, I agree with the song by Curtis Salgado and Alan Hager, “I Want My Dog To Live Longer,” only in my case it is my cat.