Essay: Confucius, Emerson, and Ginsberg

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Confucius, Emerson, and Ginsberg

From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee

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Chum For Thought:
Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters

Confucius, Emerson, and Ginsberg

The classic tenants of Confucianism and Taoism take disparate, but not mutually-exclusive, views of existence. While only Confucians would seek to give advice for improving society, elements of both views are important to a balanced and healthful existence within a society.

Confucianism is all about improving society. Individuals are expected to yield to established laws and the greater good of the community. The fundamental concept for maintaining society is the competence and fairness of public servants, which earns respectful honor and loyalty (for others, family, ancestors, public servants, and tradition). Law and tradition are looked to for guidance. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy explains:

Confucius' social philosophy largely revolves around the concept of ren, “compassion” or “loving others.” Cultivating or practicing such concern for others involved deprecating oneself. … Learning self-restraint involves studying and mastering li, the ritual forms and rules of propriety through which one expresses respect for superiors and enacts his role in society in such a way that he himself is worthy of respect and admiration. A concern for propriety should inform

Essay: A rant on “Second Amendment remedies”

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A rant on “Second Amendment remedies”

From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee

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#Guns #Law #Militia #Patriot

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Chum For Thought:
Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters

A rant on “Second Amendment remedies”

The concept of “exercising Second Amendment options” is alarming and disturbing. With that thoroughly in mind, I offer the following fictional tongue-in-cheek monologue to shine a bit of light on a not-so-modern evil.

I just heard that some people have been saying that we should use guns to get “Second Amendment remedies.” I’m not exactly clear on which people they think should be shot. Is it just Liberals in general, Liberal politicians, or anyone whose ideas run counter to those of the one toting a piece? I don’t know about you, but I thought shooting people for political purposes was frowned on.

Maybe it’s even illegal at the local, state, or federal level.

My daddy always told me to leave my guns at home when I went voting. He said, “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” He also used to say, “You go shooting all the foxes and you’ll put ol’ Roy out of a job with nothing to bark at.”

I especially remember the time Daddy explained to me that if I still had my eye on that Johnson girl, that I had best make nice to her daddy, even if I did hate his guts. And I couldn’t just up and shoot Donnie Joe when I found out that

Essay: When the right-wing elite turned fascist

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When the right-wing elite turned fascist

From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee

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#Hitler #Weimar #Conservatives

Chum For Thought:
Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters

When the right-wing elite turned fascist

An interesting thing happened in Germany between World War I and World War II. A major industrial nation weakened, conservatives embraced public austerity, and the citizens embraced extremist authoritarian politicians to save them from their problems. Instead, citizens lost control of their government, pulling a whole new set of problems down upon themselves.

This could be just an interesting bit of history if not for the fact that something very similar has been happening in America over the last few decades. Self-seeking private interests are overwhelming public-minded civic servants. Let’s explore these related political dynamics. The same tragedy is not inevitable for us, especially if we take notice and choose to follow a different path.

Germany responded to depression by enforcing austerity, dismissing many public servants, and cutting the wages and benefits of others. The result was that unemployment increased even further and general

Essay: Is God punishing America? – Revisited

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Is God punishing America? – Revisited

From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee

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Read or download this essay as a PDF file at: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4eNv8KtePyKUVFCQWZ2RDg0MXM/edit?usp=sharing

Chum For Thought:
Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters

Is God punishing America? – Revisited

I used to play a computer game called SimCity. I discovered that when you cleared a block for redevelopment that contained a church, a tornado would come ripping through the town. I thought that it was a clever joke by the programmers. However, some people think that this is how God operates, and how fathers should operate, and how political leaders should operate.

I do actually believe that there is a narrow window during childhood when punishment is sometimes appropriate. This period starts when the young child can distinguish the connection between their choice of behavior and the resulting consequence. It ends when “Because I said so” stops making sense. During this brief time, however, this is what they can understand and this is how they can be motivated.

And then things start to change. Children develop the maturity to start making responsible choices. These children start to ask “why” and they start to be able to understand why. After that, a responsible father starts to