The American Political sport is a unique beast. Something wholly original on the world stage. No, I’m not talking about “The American Experiment” in constitutional republics. That experiment has failed to produce lasting results, although it was a worthy try. No, what I mean is that unlike the rest of the western world, American politics grows more and more extreme at an increasing rate – a rate that should be alarming to most rational and peaceful people.
Tag: writing
Freeing Butterflies: A Grandmother’s Journey to Homeschooling Acceptance
“I’ve had it, Mom—the last straw has landed. I’m taking Shaun out of school this week and I’m going to have him learn at home. And I’m never going to send Patrick and Molly to school. And if Ian wants to homeschool, he can, too!” With those words, I let my mother know I’d taken the drastic step I’d been contemplating and researching for months.
Inequality and Risk
I don’t think many people realize there is a connection between economic inequality and risk. I didn’t fully grasp it till recently. I’d known for years of course that if one didn’t score in a startup, the other alternative was to get a cozy, tenured research job. But I didn’t understand the equation governing my behavior. Likewise, it’s obvious empirically that a country that doesn’t let people get rich is headed for disaster, whether it’s Diocletian’s Rome or Harold Wilson’s Britain. But I did not till recently understand the role risk played.
How Children Learn Bravery in an Age of Overprotection
I doubt if there has ever been any human culture, anywhere, at any time, that underestimates children’s abilities more than we North Americans do today. Our underestimation becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy, because, by depriving children of freedom, we deprive them of the opportunities they need to learn how to take control of their own behavior and emotions.
What I’ve Learned in 10 Years of Zen Habits
Unbelievably, this month marks 10 years since I started Zen Habits. I’ve had an amazing decade, and I’d like to reflect on those years today. I’ve seen so much change in the last 10 years that I can’t possibly reflect on all of it.
Screw Finding Your Passion
Remember back when you were a kid? You would just do things. You never thought to yourself, “What are the relative merits of learning baseball versus football?” You just ran around the playground and played baseball and football. You built sand castles and played tag and asked silly questions and looked for bugs and dug up grass and pretended you were a sewer monster.
Modern Copyright Built on an Obsolete Assumption
When copyright was reinstated in 1710, the justification was that of publishing being many orders of magnitude more expensive than authoring, and so without it, nothing would get published. But the Internet has reversed this assumption completely: publishing is now many orders of magnitude cheaper than writing the piece you want to publish.
The Relational Anarchist Primer
According to relational anarchists, the better humans connect with each other, the more peace and understanding that will exist between them. The greater the strength of the relationships, the less likely rulers will become necessary or begin to emerge. Anarchism means “without rulers.” And besides being a political assertion, this is a psychological and relational preference. It is apolitical, based on preferred relationship standards. Instead of dispensing violence, these anarchists dispense compassion.
The Civic Duty of an Anarchist
Ok, now I know what you’re thinking. “The civic duty? Do you even anarchy, bro?” No, I get it. We’re anarchists. We don’t vote. We don’t participate in elections. We think paying taxes is for schmucks, and actively look for ways to lessen how much we pay (if we pay at all *wink wink*), and generally, could not care less about the political process. It’s corrupt, fake, and full of deception, pay-offs, theft, armed robbery, and murder. A wise philosopher once said “Government is the price we pay for being uncivilized.” I get it. So how does an anarchist participate? Should an anarchist participate, even? Well, I think there are a number of ways that anarchists can engage the public, if we so choose (and we should).
In Praise of Political Apathy
My children are both non-voters. They have little to no interest in politics. To them it is a big waste of time. They have more important things to do – like develop careers, enjoy the company of friends, have a good time and just live their lives. Some, on both the left and the right, would condemn them as apathetic.