My stupid left ear is stopped up this morning. Blah. Sipping hot lemon water. At breakfast Eileen and I were laughing about being old and having gross body stories to tell (not just ours, but other people’s as well). Life is pretty good, really.
I have lighter day today. One class, one meeting with the boss, but my trio has canceled. So even though I enjoy the trio, it’s nice to have time off. I probably will do the groceries. Fascinating, eh?
My copy of Goleman’s Vital Lies, Simple Truths arrived in the mail yesterday.
I am using my notes to mark up the new (used) book. Then I will keep my notes in the book itself which is my usual procedure.
I am also finishing off In Search of the Missing Elephant: Selected essays by Donald N. Michael. This is where I found the reference to Goleman’s book.
Michael and Goleman seem particularly apt when witnessing the madness of the Republican nominee race.
Michael says that leaders face the taboo of actually naming the problem. Most importantly that societal problems have gotten so complex they are beyond analytic thinking and that most people trying to do this thinking have been “mal-educated” (this seems to be a word Michael has coined).
Leaders by obfuscating, talk the talk of denial. In Santorum’s case I believe he is talking the talk of the narrow language of puritanical ethics that is in itself largely wrong-headed. So maybe he is a bit more consistent than some of the others, but no less frightening.
I do know that he carried western Michigan in Tuesday’s primaries. I see the puritanical stance as one of denial of what is best in humanity. But of course that’s just little ol me. Heh.
I suppose I should clarify that rigid moral codes are more appropriate for individuals to be free to exercise than for society at large which is much more complex and diverse than Calvinism and Catholicism (as it is presently promulgated).
In my lifetime I have witnessed time and time again people with rigid moral codes reevaluate them when they have to apply them to real life situations. I actually see this as a saving grace, not a bad thing.
So when a staunch opponent to abortion suddenly sees things a bit different when his or her young daughter is pregnant, I find that a good thing.
I avoid the word conservative because I don’t think what is being debated in the public sphere really connects to conserving or liberating anything.
It’s more about winning and a weird reduction of politics from a way to come to an agreement about how to live as a society to a sports event where the victors take all.
Certainly this is not a democratic thought.
But enough.
It’s odd how much time I spend thinking about this sort of thing and reading books like the ones by Goleman and Michael when in fact most of my time is taken up thinking about beauty (music, poetry, art) and its context (history, contemporary world wide instances of music, poetry and art).
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John Berryman Poems, Biography and Quotes – by American Poems
Is this cool or what? A page of links to tons of Berryman’s poems. I am currently on Dream Song 127 (out of 385).
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Ugandan Lawmakers Push Anti-Homosexuality Bill Again – NYTimes.com
Kill the gay people. Tolerance is an expression of neo-colonialism. Good grief.
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Bailiffs in London Dismantle St. Paul’s Occupy Camp – NYTimes.com
Thus the government quietly destroys another good thing with the complicity of the organized church. Is it any wonder I think these institutions are useless?
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Chukchansi Indian Tribe’s Dispute Heats Up in California – NYTimes.com
Amazing tribal infighting.
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Iran Calls Nuclear Arms Production ‘a Great Sin’ – NYTimes.com
Iranian foreign policy as ironic mind shattering cognitive dissonance.
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Virginia Ultrasound Bill Passes as Other States Take Notice – NYTimes.com
Despite back pedaling Virginia and other states continue to regulate wombs.
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Florida – Woman Charged in Burning of Giant Tree – NYTimes.com
What can I say? She burned a tree. A tree. Oy. Humans make me so doggone tired.
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Supreme Court Debates Rights Case Against Companies – NYTimes.com
The supreme court of the land continues to dither about whether companies are individuals, now they add a dash of international law.
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A Sorensen’s View on Santorum and the J.F.K. Speech – NYTimes.com
Ted Sorenson’s daughter who is also a law prof chides Santorum on his lack of historical understanding.
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I did not vote for Santorum, but I think that he was being used by the media to establish a issue with the public. This, I think, is driven by the President which started the problem. Santorum seems to be responding as a devout Catholic. The president is losing the women’s vote nationally, and this is a way to reinvigorate that segment of his support.