“Whatever wisdom constituently is, it is like a seedless plant; it may be reared when it appears, but it cannot be voluntarily produced”
Power, prestige, celebrity, wealth, age… None of these are intrinsically imbued with wisdom, and achieving them does not bestow it.
We would all be wise to embrace and nurture it where and whenever it [...]
Monthly Archives: August 2006
On Finding and Nurturing Wisdom
Thursday, August 31, 2006
On Responsible Behavior toward Future Generations
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
“Every generation is equal in rights to the generation that preceded it, by the same rule that every individual is born equal in rights with his contemporary.”
Thomas Paine writes of equality that transcends both space and time in Rights of Man.
With concerns of global climate change, strained economies, growing scarcity of resources, and a generally [...]
On Waiting for the Computer to Reboot After a Crash
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
“What a fool do fabulous systems make of man!”
The computer is designed to help make the individual more efficient and productive. Many can scarcely imagine getting through their day without them. Paine, of course, would have reveled in the tools available to the modern blogger.
Sitting through a system reboot after yet another computer crash, I [...]
On Planets, Solar Systems, and How We Observe the Cosmos
Saturday, August 26, 2006
“Every science has for its basis a system of principles as fixed and unalterable as those by which the universe is regulated and governed. Man cannot make principles; he can only discover them.”
Ah yes, Mr. Paine, but what of Pluto? To the laymen the past few weeks may have been confusing: from nine planets to [...]
On Partisanship in Politics and Divisiveness in the Public Debate
Thursday, August 24, 2006
“It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great strength lies”
Does it seem that when the results of a primary election, such as Joe Lieberman in Connecticut, is held up as emboldening the terrorists because it shows a divided nation, has partisanship and heated rhetoric gone too far?
Is the danger from terrorists - [...]
On the Existence of Heaven and the Possibility of Getting There
Thursday, August 24, 2006
“I trouble myself not with the manner of future existence. I content myself with believing, even to positive conviction, that the power that gave me existence is able to continue it, in any form and manner he pleases, either with or wihtout this body”
The closing words from Thomas Paine’s Age of Reason hint at his [...]
On Contemplating the Nature of Civilization
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
“Whether that state that is proudly, perhaps erroneously, called civilization, has most promoted or most injured the general happiness of man is a question that may be strongly contested. -On one side, the spectator is dazzled by splendid appearances; on the other, he is shocked by extremes of wretchedness; both of which he has erected. [...]
On Grassroots Activism and Changing the World
Monday, August 21, 2006
“We have it in our power to begin the world over again.“
I started this blog with this essay. I was inspired by the notion that Paine utilized the cutting-edge technology of his day to communicate his ideas to the widest audience possible. The “wordpress” of his day, if you will. He firmly believed in the [...]
On Inspiration
Friday, August 18, 2006
“There are two distinct classes of what are called thoughts: those that we produce in ourselves by reflection and the act of thinking and those that bolt into the mind of their own accord.”
After hours of reflection and thinking on a problem, it comes to pass, sometimes, that the answer will present itself after you’ve [...]
On Keeping it Real in a World of Spin
Friday, August 18, 2006
“Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us”
In a world made up of marketing messages, spin, and PR, reputations can be manufactured. Character is who you are when no one is looking.
thomas paine character celebrity reputation