29 DEC 2016 by ideonexus
You were never actually accomplishing anything by watchin...
If you ask someone what they accomplish by watching the news, you’ll hear vague notions like, “It’s our civic duty to stay informed!” or “I need to know what’s going on in the world,” or “We can’t just ignore these issues,” none of which answer the question.
“Being informed” sounds like an accomplishment, but it implies that any information will do. You can become informed by reading a bus schedule.
A month after you’ve quit the news, it’s hard to name anything u...
1 24 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
Each of Us is Ordinary, Yet One of a Kind
Each of us is ordinary, yet one of a kind.
Each of us is standard issue, conceived by the union of two germ cells, nurtured in a womb, and equipped with a developmental program that guides our further maturation and eventual decline.
Each of us is also unique, the possessor of a particular selection of gene variants from the collective human genome and immersed in a particular family, culture, era, and peer group. With inborn tools for adaptation to the circumstances of our personal world,...Samuel Barondes insightful observation.
19 APR 2013 by ideonexus
How Do We Nourish the Revolution?
Every thing tells us that we are approaching the era of one of the grand revolutions of
the human race. What can better enlighten us to what we may expect, what can be a
surer guide to us, amidst its commotions, than the picture of the revolutions that have
preceded and prepared the way for it? The present state of knowledge assures us that
it will be happy. But is it not upon condition that we know how to assist it with all our strength? And, that the happiness it promises may be less dearly... 1 
notes
notesWe are in a society that is experiencing accelerating happiness, accelerating technology, and social progress. The progress is inevitable, but we must understand it in order to encourage it and recognize the pitfalls it may experience.
06 APR 2011 by ideonexus
Lincoln on the Enthronement of Corporations
As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war. God grant that my suspicions may prove groundless (emphasis mine). 1 notes
notesThere is a valid dispute as to whether these words were actually Lincolns, or if they were fabricated to support a political campaign 20 years after his death; regardless, they are prescient words eloquently spoken for their time, no matter the speaker.
