Diets have always been as much about a philosophy and a kind of cult culture (in the general sense, not the religious sense) as they have been about actual food. Go all the way back to the days of the ancient Greeks and you find all sorts of crazy diets and theories about how theyContinue reading “Dieting and moralizing”
Tag Archives: society
A cut tangent from the entry about Untamed
The movie musical Rent does something similar. It has a song where the male singer, Roger, is clearly in the wrong and needs to change. The music becomes discordant when he sings, the style he uses is very harsh, the framing portrays him as separated and confined and in shadow. The girl, Miami, is free,Continue reading “A cut tangent from the entry about Untamed”
Speculation about the content of Untamed
I haven’t read the book Untamed, and in order to criticize something you should definitely read it. I’m just not sure I want to spend my time on it. But a quick glance offered me enough insight that I think I could get at a lot of its major take-home points. A book like thatContinue reading “Speculation about the content of Untamed”
The shifting strategy of socialism
If nationalism has some basis in racial solidarity, in the identity of the tribe (the French, Germans, Italians, for example), might it not make sense to infer that tribalism is itself part of the reason socialism can’t seem to cohere on a broader international basis? And if that’s an obstacle to the Marxist dream, thenContinue reading “The shifting strategy of socialism”
An addendum to “meaning in life”
Life, of course, isn’t all about survival, any more than it is all about ambition or pleasure. But all of these are components of our lives. If there’s one peoole that we can learn something about finding meaning in the midst of uncertainly of survival from, it’s the Jews. It’s amazing that they are stillContinue reading “An addendum to “meaning in life””
Meaning in life
Meaning in life isn’t a function of how big and grand and special and unique a thing you’re doing, and what that makes of you. Meaning in life is a function of taking responsibility for and investing in the life you have, and what that makes of you. We can’t all be Shakespeare or KanyeContinue reading “Meaning in life”
Why we need the noble savage
We must believe in the myth of the noble savage. It is this story, this mythology, that allows us to maintain the great fiction that guards and preserves the deep psychological needs of our hearts. There is something deep inside us that it protects, a different story, a nagging doubt, a yawning void, that itContinue reading “Why we need the noble savage”
Birth of the goddess
Spicy meatball warning. Offensive, personal, not at all polite or correct. Prepare for some shocking imagery. I believe it to be necessary to really adrress this subject honestly and unblinkingly. The unvarnished reality of it. I know that in some ways I’m violating my own points I made in my entry about Cuties. There areContinue reading “Birth of the goddess”
Response to the Dark Horse podcast
Here is the relevant clip. This is actually just a transcript of a comment I posted on that video. https://youtu.be/JZ_MEX0vtRE I just read a whole book on this subject called Cheap Sex. In which it is argued by a sex researcher that the economics of sex have shifted so that the cost of it, andContinue reading “Response to the Dark Horse podcast”
Are friends family too?
There an interesting cultural narrative I’ve long noticed but never commented on. The identification of friends as family (or family substitutes). Obviously, the narrative of lonely, lost, and dislocated people finding a home has a long history. Even the ancient story of Ruth from the Bible runs along these lines, although she substitutes an actualContinue reading “Are friends family too? “
Mulan 2 and duty
Here’s a super relevant topic, Mulan’s straight to video sequel! Seriously, this movie isn’t really worth talking about a lot. It was fine. Not terrible, not great. Fine. The one thing I wanted to talk about is what a perfect example it is of the conflict between Chinese and American values. As a sequel withContinue reading “Mulan 2 and duty”
Diagnosis White Privilege: a skin condition or a heart condition?
I’ve never felt the need to respond to or say anything about Robin DiAngelo and her little book. It never seemed like there was anything there worth responding to, it’s so obviously vacuous. But I suppose you can’t really argue with millions of copies sold and hundreds of mandatory trainings in workplaces. In my ownContinue reading “Diagnosis White Privilege: a skin condition or a heart condition? “
The source of a culture’s lifeblood
The power of the creative divine belongs to those who have a vision of the future and are willing to bear or assign the responsibility for it. Either to carry it or to remove those who stand in its way. The power of the vision and the assignment of responsibility allows human to rise aboveContinue reading “The source of a culture’s lifeblood”
Heroes and villains
Do people need enemies? Do they instinctively seek them out? The thing that is preventing the future we envision from coming to pass. How we conceive of those enemies seems to matter a lot. Certain ideologies, such as Christianity, actively encourage us not to view actual other people as our enemies, but rather, impersonal forcesContinue reading “Heroes and villains”
Cuties, part 2
An afterword about sexual taboos. Please skip if you’re easily offended. The topic of discussion is taboos we have already dropped and what ones we may still drop. So no matter where you are in the timeline of taboo holding or taboo rejecting, you’ll probably find something to be offended about. On a side note,Continue reading “Cuties, part 2”
Cuties
The film Cuties has raised some ethical problems about popular art. One particular problem is, where do you draw the line between exposure of an issue and exploitation of an issue? It may have been the intent of the filmmaker to criticize the sexualization of children. On the other hand, she did it by showingContinue reading “Cuties”
On individualism
It is the instinct of our time to “make something ours”, to make it your own, to particularize things to yourself. We do not seek to belong to something greater than ourselves. Our love of the individual means there is nothing greater, and we make them worthwhile by bringing them into us, not us intoContinue reading “On individualism”
The blind spots of all societies
It is in the nature of every civilization to be blinded by two things. First the “things that everybody knows”, the basic, fairly unchallenged assumptions that drive people’s view of the world. The “first principles” of the science of life that are themselves axiomatic (as Aristotle pointed out). The second is the confidence and selfContinue reading “The blind spots of all societies “
Random Tangent on History
(excerpted from an older entry) It’s an interesting fact that our political parties seem to have organized themselves broadly based on personality. I have a theory for why this may have happened. Partly it may just be an inevitable consequence of having enough people, and, since personality variation is a huge natural element of humanContinue reading “Random Tangent on History”
The manifesto of the new age
Speech is violence Outcomes are causes Denial is guilt Censorship is inclusion Power is truth Violence is peaceful Vulnerability is power Strength is safety Freedom is uniformity of results Property is theft Dialogue is supression Knowledge is slavery Everyone is the same But differences are supreme Who you love is innate to who you areContinue reading “The manifesto of the new age”
Making Nobody Happy 