Freedom Versus The Internet
The most dangerous affect of bans on books and teaching by government is its erosion on the culture of free speech. While the United States has the first amendment that prohibits government censorship of nearly all speech, a culture of “this is how we do it here” is more important. One way that culture is expressed is when one says, “I don’t agree with what you are saying, but I will fight for your right to say it.”
This article does a great job of explaining why free speech, and thus the freedom of expression of ideas, is so important to liberty and progress. One thing the article does not address is the consequences of time. The time it took for the national mind to change its views on smoking and gay rights was long, and in today’s Internet time, most will now say too long.
What happens in a society when more citizens lived after the Internet and the compression of time that it creates? I think you see this being played out right now with the issue of trans rights, many will not tolerate change taking as long as gay rights did because the have always lived in a world of instant gratification thanks to the Internet.
I think the current tug of war between nearly all dualism is become so intense due to the Internet’s affect on the expectations of change. Half of society demands fast change, the other half prefers slower change and sees the only way to achieve it is by digging in their heels so they can be comfortable. The extremes demand an all or nothing approach, either all change right now, or no change now or maybe never. Both sides are so obsessed with the outcome they cannot see the consequences of the fight.
Oops, she did it again! Second year in a row of snow on my birthday.
Retirement practice
Finished reading: To Follow the Lamb by Ted Grimsrud 📚
R.I.P. Computer Magazine
Ironically, I read about the last print publication of Maximum PC and MacLife via RSS and the web, which long ago for me replaced computer magazines. Harry McCracken writes something like an obituary for the computer magazine.
Last week my wife told me the amazing news of a new brick and mortar book store opening within a mile of our house. The news brought back memories of spending hours in Borders and Barnes and Noble, both which were within a mile of our house and long since gone. (Sadly the Barnes and Noble building still sits empty more than a decade after it closed.) One of the main things I did in these stores was thumb through, and often buy, computer magazines, sometimes I would just read them while sitting in their cafe.
At one time I payed for subscriptions to several magazines, but over time as the web grew, there was little point in buying them. The web, and more specifically my blogs, even enabled me to live out the fantasy of being a writer like Jerry Pournelle.
And, so the excitement of the news about the new book store near me faded fast. Why would I shop there? Today I only buy ebooks and I get my computing news and do product research online. I know for many the medium is the message, and I truly hope there are enough such people living near me to keep the new book store open. Yes, I spent many hours browsing book stores and reading magazines but I’ve never once missed the glossy print magazines nor the heft of Computer Shopper.
Finished reading: How the South Won the Civil War by Heather Cox Richardson 📚
In both of those eras (before and after the Civil WR), rich men attempted to garner power through words and images that convinced American voters that extending the right of self-determination to people of color, women, and poor Americans would destroy it for white men.
We live in a time in which there are problems to be solved, but our politicians only want to use problems as leverage against their opponent. The Trump administration’s reactions to COVID are one example, and the Democrat’s lack of action on abortion since Roe v. Wade is another. Gun violence is another example. People who disagree on many things can work together when they both agree to work toward solving problems, this is when compromise becomes real. Until we rediscover the difference between governing and running for office, our government will continue to be disfunctional.
With all the banning of books and now social media, it really feels as though we are living in 1984.
What a difference a few days of sunshine and warm weather makes.
I dare any professional Christian to preach on the relationship of Christ crucified and the idol that is the 2nd amendment to the U.S. constitution. While Jesus is the solution, Christianity is the problem.
Anyone with eyes, ears, and a conscious knows that things are very, very wrong in the United States. For most it’s self evident that things cannot continue has they are, and yet we feel helpless to do anything to fix the problems. I submit that helplessness you feel is the self evident sign of idolatry. Yes, violence is part of the world, that is the self evident truth scripture tells in the story of Cain murdering Abel, which by the way is the first time the word sin appears in scripture. Whether or not one is religious, it is self evident to those not caught up in the thrall of the U.S. idol that more violence will not stop the killings. source
The NFL streaming pricing remains as ridiculous as always, and sadly that won’t change until the NFL is willing to break themselves free from the feeding trough of cable TV.
First blossom on a flowering tree of the season.
First daffy to appear this spring 🌱 🌼
How Did America’s Weirdest, Most Freedom-Obsessed State Fall for an Authoritarian Governor?
The paradox of freedom, Florida style, is that it’s really an assertion of control. People like us should be free to do what we want, and free to stop other people from doing what they want when we don’t approve
That’s it right there in a nutshell. Freedom for me does not mean freedom for you.
Happy Easter
Easter has become so individualized that it has lost it’s transformative message for the world. What really happened on Friday? The powers of the world employed the only thing they know, which is violence (the sin of the world), in an attempt to stop the movement, the Way of Jesus. On Sunday we see that the powers and their violence do not have the last word. The reason why the powers still have hold today is that we continue to believe in them.
What I think is most troubling in this article about Clarence Thomas is that he appears to not care how others think about him. It seems to me that a fundamental requirement of ethical behavior is actually caring about what others think. While Thomas' continued participation in extravagant trips that he does not pay to attend is not illegal, it creates the appears of quid pro quo. Ethics isn’t about laws, it’s about appearance and trust. Americans are right to not trust the Supreme Court when justices don’t care about ethics, and given that the Supreme Court is the most authoritarian branch of the U.S. government, the lack of ethics is frightening.
Seems like some are forgetting that a grand jury is who is indicting Trump, not the DA. A DA brings an accusation to a grand jury decides whether there is enough evidence to warrant charges. The point of a grand jury is to take politics out of charges.
Finished reading: Resurrecting Easter by John Dominic Crossan 📚
Today marks the beginning of Holy Week for Christians, and every year it seems the focus is on believing the stories happened rather than pondering upon and growing from the question, how are these stories relevant today?
In the Crucifixion story, what we have is a parable against civilization. The kingdom of Rome is a typical kingdom within the normal protocols of this world and, as such, it is based on violent force and imperial coercion. It is simply the normalcy of civilization in Mediterranean place and first-century time. But the kingdom of God is an antitypical kingdom in that it does not even allow violent “fighting” to free Jesus from execution—recall John 18:26. So the Crucifixion and Resurrection story is not simply about Jesus clashing with or triumphing over Pilate, but about a hopeful option for humanity to find a way out of the violence-based civilization it has created for itself.
The true question of faith is not whether resurrection happened or has begun, but rather whether the world is being and will be transformed through our collaboration with Yahweh in Christ! Our lack of faith in the story of Jesus and in the work of Christ has us stuck in the normalcy of civilization.
One of my best friends who lives in the town we grew up in sent a picture of the foot of snow that fell on his patio over night. Meanwhile, we have this…
#NotAFool
