My daughters and I have started to watch some of the episodes from the Star Trek Voyager series on DVD. We are not disappointed at all. All of us are finding that the series contains well-written, thought-provoking, stories. Here is a topic that might seem unrelated to Star Trek: According to…
The bill to set withdrawal timetables from Iraq has passed, on its way now to the President's desk--where it will be vetoed. Democrats will work on this issue from now on, presumably with an eye toward using it as a campaign issue to gain more seats and hopefully hand the White…
Here’s a good way to save yourself $23.95: Don’t buy The Secret. It’s not that I’m against secrets in general, it’s just that I want to spare you from wasting your money on a hot new book called “The Secret,” a book that has hit a new low in shallow, self-absorbed and insipid hype. There is almost nothing in this book worth reading, which is a pretty amazing thing to say about a a book that is featured prominently at Borders and other large bookstores. It’s has even become the number one best selling hardcover advice book according to the NYT. And why wait to make it into a movie? Truly, why wait?
I don’t know much about Rhonda Byrne, the author, or her gaggle of “great writers, leaders, philosophers, doctors, and scientists.” Byrne presents an unlikely image of a sage. She attempts to strike a pensive blonde pose on that the inside flap, yet obliviously presents herself as strained, contorted and out of her element. Much like her book. Or am I too contaminated by the shallow, self-absorbed and insipid hype that one finds wrapped in that beautifully designed book jacket? Truly, the book jacket is gorgeous, though you would get equally helpful advice (perhaps more) by trying to “read” a Persian rug.
You’re impatient, though. You want the goods. Here they are: What can you say about a book based on the following premise: “Everything that’s coming into your life you are attracting into your life. …
As a nation, we seem to be making one boneheaded decision after another.
Iraq has to be the top of that list. We attacked Iraq because we couldn’t let “them” get away with what “they” did on September 11. I have heard numerous seemingly intelligent people utter this other nonsense. The only way this justification works, however, is if all people living in the Middle East are the same. There’s no basis for believing that everyone in the Middle East is “the same,” yet this truly seems to be the foundation of the thought process of many people. Someone from the Middle East attacked us, therefore we must attack someone in the Middle East. And by someone they mean anyone.
By this same logic, when someone in my neighborhood steals my car, I am justified asking the police to throw anyone from my neighborhood in prison. Anyone at all! The important thing is that I am mad or frustrated or embarrassed and I want to cast judgment some more quickly and see something done.
It’s truly amazing that intelligent people can fall for this kind of thinking, but many of us do.
Perhaps it’s because we have trouble categorizing. Take, for instance, the category “the poor.” I know many right-leaning people who claim that all poor people are deservedly poor. And they are lazy, as well as immoral and stupid. This allows many social conservatives to justify social Darwinism at the highest levels of government.
On the other hand, I …
Recent comments in response to posts on Dangerous Intersection have led me to write this screed. Screed is to be the operative word for this, for it has been born out impatience and anger. The biggest danger we face in the long run is the basic ignorance people bring to…