Extremely interesting, and at points, encouraging — especially the part that said people are less religious than at any other time in US history.
ThisExtremely interesting, and at points, encouraging — especially the part that said people are less religious than at any other time in US history.
This gives me a tiny bit of hope that, no matter who is elected in November, maybe we can all be adults and not let religious beliefs cloud our politics.
Maybe that is too much to ask, but it is 2020.
“So here, then, is the last fifty years of American politics summarized: we became more consistent in the party we vote for not because we came to like our party more—indeed, we’ve come to like the parties we vote for less—but because we came to dislike the opposing party more. Even as hope and change sputter, fear and loathing proceed.” ...more
“Life is a Sisyphean race, run ever faster toward a finish line that is merely the start of the next race.”
Never has this felt more real than as we ap“Life is a Sisyphean race, run ever faster toward a finish line that is merely the start of the next race.”
Never has this felt more real than as we approach the one year anniversary of the pandemic lock down.
The Red Queen concept derives from Lewis Carroll "Through the Looking Glass": The faster you run, the more the world moves with you and the less you make progress.
To be honest, I HATED Manson’s other book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck—in fact, it was my most hated book of 2017.
This one is nothing ground To be honest, I HATED Manson’s other book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck—in fact, it was my most hated book of 2017.
This one is nothing ground breaking, but it was the fluffy easy read I needed amidst darker reads. And, I actually found it kind of encouraging/cheering. Yet totally cheesy.
“Because pain is the universal constant of life, the opportunities to grow from that pain are constant in life. All that is required is that we don't numb it, that we don't look away. All that is required is that we engage it and find the value and meaning in it.”
“Freedom itself demands discomfort.”
“The only true form of freedom, the only ethical form of freedom, is through self-limitation. It is not the privilege of choosing everything you want in your life, but rather, choosing what you will give up in your life.”
“We can be truly successful only at things we are willing to fail at.”
Working on my second year through The Daily Stoic.
"There is no better definition of a Stoic: to have but not want, to enjoy Might read this one again.
Working on my second year through The Daily Stoic.
"There is no better definition of a Stoic: to have but not want, to enjoy without needing.”
"'Since the parts of philosophy are inseparable from each other, yet plants are distinct from fruit and walls are separate from plants, he claimed the simile for philosophy should rather be a living being, where physics is blood and flesh, logic the bones and sinews, and ethics the soul.' It's the perfect metaphor for the Stoics too, because philosophy is meant to be lived as a human being."
"No one can take away our ability to remain undaunted."
"It’s an example that should challenge every talented and brilliant person: You owe it to yourself and to the world to actively engage with the brief moment you have on this planet. You cannot retreat exclusively into ideas. You must contribute."
“It’s only in our modern reactionary, divisive focus on 'privilege' that we have forgotten how much we all have in common as human beings, how we all stand equally naked and defenseless against fate whether we possess worldly power or not.”
“Don’t explain your philosophy,” Epictetus said, “embody it.”
"A book given. A book read. Such a simple exchange, but done between the right two people at the right time—as it was here—can be enough to change the world."...more
Some hard truths here, this should be required reading.
“There’s nothing feminist about having so many resources at your fingertips and choosing to be Some hard truths here, this should be required reading.
“There’s nothing feminist about having so many resources at your fingertips and choosing to be ignorant. Nothing empowering or enlightening in deciding that intent trumps impact. Especially when the consequences aren’t going to be experienced by you, but will instead be experienced by someone from a marginalized community.”
“One of the biggest issues with mainstream feminist writing has been the way the idea of what constitutes a feminist issue is framed. We rarely talk about basic needs as a feminist issue. Food insecurity and access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. Instead of a framework that focuses on helping women get basic needs met, all too often the focus is not on survival but on increasing privilege. For a movement that is meant to represent all women, it often centers on those who already have most of their needs met.”
“An intersectional approach to feminism requires understanding that too often mainstream feminism ignores that Black women and other women of color are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine of hate.”...more
Key takeaway—Nations don't have to be fascist to suffer from fascist politics.
Equal parts sobering and alarming, Yale philosopher Jason Stanley lays oKey takeaway—Nations don't have to be fascist to suffer from fascist politics.
Equal parts sobering and alarming, Yale philosopher Jason Stanley lays out the ten pillars of fascist politics, analyzing the language and beliefs that divide “us” from “them.” A timely, yet chilling read so close to the election.
Thought to Ponder:
"In book 8 of Plato’s Republic, Socrates argues that people are not naturally led to self-governance but rather seek a strong leader to follow. Democracy, by permitting freedom of speech, opens the door for a demagogue to exploit the people’s need for a strongman; the strongman will use this freedom to prey on the people's resentments and fears. Once the strongman seizes power, he will end democracy, replacing it with tyranny. In short, book 8 of The Republic argues that democracy is a self-undermining system whose very ideals lead to its own demise.
Fascists have always been well acquainted with this recipe for using democracy’s liberties against itself; Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels once declared, “This will always remain one of the best jokes of democracy, that it gave its deadly enemies the means by which it was destroyed.” Today is no different from the past. Again, we find the enemies of liberal democracy employing this strategy, pushing the freedom of speech to its limits and ultimately using it to subvert others’ speech.” ...more
A collection of essays critiquing neoliberalism, or "capitalism with the gloves off," this book feels very dated in 2020 and is more of a history thanA collection of essays critiquing neoliberalism, or "capitalism with the gloves off," this book feels very dated in 2020 and is more of a history than an explanation of theory.
“Neoliberalism is the defining political economic paradigm of our time—it refers to the policies and processes whereby a relative handful of private interests are permitted to control as much as possible of social life in order to maximize their personal profit.”
“That is neoliberal democracy in a nutshell: trivial debate over minor issues by parties that basically pursue the same pro-business policies regardless of formal differences and campaign debate. Democracy is permissible as long as the control of business is off-limits to popular deliberation or change; i.e. so long as it isn’t democracy.”...more
What a cast of characters! Excellent writing by Macintyre, but not as quite as good as *A Spy Among Friends* or *The Spy and the Traitor* — perhaps a What a cast of characters! Excellent writing by Macintyre, but not as quite as good as *A Spy Among Friends* or *The Spy and the Traitor* — perhaps a bit too spread out in scope.
“For the D-Day spies were, without question, one of the oddest military units ever assembled. They included a bisexual Peruvian playgirl, a tiny Polish fighter pilot, a mercurial Frenchwoman, a Serbian seducer, and a deeply eccentric Spaniard with a diploma in chicken farming.”
“In war, no variable is more important, and less easy to control, than the element of surprise.”
"There will be many books written about the year 2020: historical, analytic, political and comprehensive accounts. This is not any of those. What I've"There will be many books written about the year 2020: historical, analytic, political and comprehensive accounts. This is not any of those. What I've tried to do is organize some of the feelings and thoughts that events, so far, have provoked in me, in those scraps of time the year itself has allowed. These are, above all, personal essays: small by definition, short by necessity. Early on in the crisis, I picked up Marcus Aurelius and for the first time in my life read his Meditations not as an academic exercise, nor in pursuit of pleasure, but with the same attitude I bring to the instructions for a flat-pack table — I was in need of practical assistance. I am no more a Stoic now than I was when I opened that ancient book, but I did come out with two invaluable intimations. Talking to yourself can be useful. And writing means being overheard."
“I am not a scientist or a sociologist. I’m a novelist. Who can admit, late in the day, during this strange and overwhelming season of death that collides, outside my window, with the emergence of dandelions, that spring sometimes rises in me, too, and the moon may occasionally tug at my moods, and if I hear a strange baby cry some part of me still leaps to attention — to submission.”...more
Mixed feelings on the book and the HBO adaptation.
Would love to have a conversation with someone who's read it.
“But stories are like people, Atticus. Mixed feelings on the book and the HBO adaptation.
Would love to have a conversation with someone who's read it.
“But stories are like people, Atticus. Loving them doesn’t make them perfect. You try to cherish their virtues and overlook their flaws. The flaws are still there, though. "
"But you don’t get mad. Not like Pop does."
"No, that’s true, I don’t get mad. Not at stories. They do disappoint me sometimes." He looked at the shelves. "Sometimes, they stab me in the heart.”
*2021 Update*
Looking back, I think I definitely liked the HBO screen adaptation way more even though it's quite different from the book. It was bloody and gruesome with a message while also being incredibly artistic and creative. There are some scenes forever burned into my mind, like the "shedding skin" parts. ...more
Nothing beats Greene's 48 Laws of Power, but this one was entertaining and insightful.
Must be taken with a grain of salt, but basically, “When our emNothing beats Greene's 48 Laws of Power, but this one was entertaining and insightful.
Must be taken with a grain of salt, but basically, “When our emotions are engaged, we often have trouble seeing things as they are.”
Lots of historical "examples," and very quotable, even if laughable at times.
“Seduction is a game of psychology, not beauty, and it is within the grasp of any person to become a master at the game. All that is required is that you look at the world differently, through the eyes of a seducer.”
“Your greatest power in seduction is your ability to turn away, to make others come after you, delaying their satisfaction.”
“The key to such power is ambiguity. In a society where the roles everyone plays are obvious, the refusal to conform to any standard will excite interest. Be both masculine and feminine, impudent and charming, subtle and outrageous. Let other people worry about being socially acceptable; those types are a dime a dozen, and you are after a power greater than they can imagine.” ...more
The authors are a husband and wife team who won the Nobel Prize in Economics “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.”
“Herd behThe authors are a husband and wife team who won the Nobel Prize in Economics “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.”
“Herd behavior generates informational cascades: the information on which the first people base their decision will have an outsized influence on what all the others believe.”...more
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