Further Exegesis of A Man

In the past couple weeks I’ve encountered two new books from people who should know better claiming that our big brains and social systems are rooted in hunting. This is the bad penny of origin stories — Man the Hunter. It is time someone bites down on this one and shows once and for all… Continue reading Further Exegesis of A Man

On the Existence of A Man

Hildegard's vision of the cosmos Philosophers and mystics throughout time have been showing us that everything is connected, that humans are part of that everything, that unity is fundamental — and sacred. This tradition is more prevalent and prominent in the East and in most Indigenous cultures, but in the West we have our cosmologists… Continue reading On the Existence of A Man

On the Existence of Independence

It is early July. In my country, we set fire to gunpowder and other explosives wrapped in paper — which are produced almost entirely in extremely hazardous conditions outside of this country — to mimic the actual gunpowder explosions that presumably were the background for the signing of a document that declared this small group… Continue reading On the Existence of Independence

Robinhood

Apparently, if you don’t willingly participate in this economy of greed and destruction — “willingly” being loosely defined as “with some degree of acceptance and authorization” — those in power will resort to actual theft to relieve you of the dollars you manage to harbor in the brief period between payday and bill paying day. … Continue reading Robinhood

Juneteenth

Today is Juneteenth. Specifically, today is the first anniversary of Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday and the 157th anniversary of the reading of General Order No. 3 by Union Army general Gordon Granger. This was the order which served as the Texas version of the Emancipation Proclamation and therefore was the official grant of freedom for… Continue reading Juneteenth

Vestalia & Needful Religion

In the last few years I’ve seen a wide variety of people arrive at the conclusion that what we need as a society to avert self-destruction — self and everything else, that is — is a new religion. I’ve encountered novelists and sociologists (who might be predisposed), economists (who probably are not), celebrity chefs and… Continue reading Vestalia & Needful Religion

The Ignorance of Wealth

It’s a long-established truism that wealth and status breed complacency and a sort of smug sense of rectitude — which then turn into social blindness, self-absorption, and not a little stupidity. The richest person in the room is also very likely the dumbest. Yet he (and yes, it is usually…) is also utterly convinced that… Continue reading The Ignorance of Wealth