The Unclad Soul

“The truly educated become conscious. They become self-aware. They do not lie to themselves. Thought is a dialogue with one’s inner self. Those who think ask questions, questions those in authority do not want asked. They remember who we are, where we come from and where we should go. They remain eternally skeptical and distrustful of power. And they know that this moral independence is the only protection from the radical evil that results from collective unconsciousness. The capacity to think is the only bulwark against any centralized authority that seeks to impose mindless obedience. There is a huge difference, as  Socrates  understood, between teaching people what to think and teaching them how to think.”  ~ Chris Hedges, Author/Journalist

Someone on Facebook recently suggested, in a post comment, that I was not voting for Hillary Clinton because I may be afraid of strong women. The person does not know me and I have never met her. She made her comment to a friend of mine on his post in response to something I had said about Clinton. Anyone who actually knows me knows how wrong that comment is. And it’s irritating that many people seem to think if you don’t vote for Hillary you either hate her or you are afraid of women. Even if you denounce Trump, as I have done again and again, and say you aren’t voting for him, as I have said, you’re still suspect. The notion that if you’re not voting for Hillary something must be wrong with you and you have some kind of issue with women, is simply shortsighted and wrong. I have long supported the rights of women, blacks, gays, immigrants, veterans, and others who are often left out of any real discussion about equal rights, justice, and respect for them from the government a...

There is no question that Donald Trump is outmatched by Hillary Clinton. And why not? She’s been at this her entire adult life. She knows every political trick in the book and she masterfully applies them against him. He blunders along, in his street fighting mode, and he ends up being crude and bullying. Just what Hillary wants. She baits him and eggs him on and when he unloads his amateurish remarks she retaliates with polished, clever, adroit come backs. She has teams of writers and advisers, and of course Bill, who love this whole thing. They salivate over this stuff. It’s a game, a fun, exhilarating game to them. It’s a challenge for them to see just how ingenious they can be in turning Trump into a complete fool. And so far, it has worked perfectly. He of course plays along, having apparently no idea just how stupid they make him look, and how stupid he actually may be. He has no self-awareness. No understanding of what is actually going on. No game plan. No insight. No bigg...

“War has no longer the justification that it makes for the survival of the fittest; it involves the survival of the less fit. The idea that the struggle between nations is a part of the evolutionary law of man's advance involves a profound misreading of the biological analogy. The warlike nations do not inherit the earth; they represent the decaying human element.” ~ Norman Angell, British Economist/Author We need a progressive president and leaders in this country who will refuse to fund giant billionaire munitions and drone companies and a bloated war machine and work for real peace between nations and people. We have become far too accepting of the slaughter of innocents all over the world, all in the name of national security. The refugee crisis in Syria, Iraq, and other countries is a shameful obscenity. These people, mostly families, are fleeing for their lives. They have lost everything. When will we have leaders who actually believe in protecting humanity, not destr...

There is no disputing that Donald Trump is a skilled manipulator. But I realize now he pales in comparison to the crass manipulation created by the Hillary Clinton campaign and those who put together the Democratic Convention last week in Philadelphia. They went over the top in trying to pull every imaginable emotion out of delegates and viewers. From using disabled individuals giving the Pledge of Allegiance, singing the National Anthem , and speaking in support of HRC, to the Muslim parents of the US soldier who was killed in Afghanistan, it was a carefully scripted attempt at psychological mind play. The Khan family, whose son was killed 12 years ago in Afghanistan, was brought on stage to simply insult Trump and to get people angry and to move them emotionally in sorrow over the tragic loss of their son. It worked. Most people remain outraged over Donald Trump’s response but very few seem to notice how manipulative this stunt was by the Clinton campaign. The Khans themselv...

There is a large element of Democratic and Republican voters in this country who feel betrayed by their parties. Trump and Hillary and their handlers and the establishment big shots in both parties seem oblivious to this fact.  Yes, this is a great country and all of that. But folks, our political system is tragically, disastrously broken. It does not represent the majority of our citizens. Anyone who cannot see that is simply living in some kind of unyielding denial. I don’t know what will happen in the Republican Party. Their convention this summer will likely be a hot mess. But I can assure you, with all of the condescending calls from Hillary’s cheerleaders to dismiss Bernie supporters, the Democratic convention will be no less chaotic. All the pundits have declared her the nominee and many even the president. To discount so many with that kind of disdainfulness may very well create shocking consequences at the convention. There are groups of people in America who ...

“There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge and wisdom. Shall we instead choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? I appeal as a human being to human beings; remember your humanity.”  ―   Bertrand Russell , Philosopher/Author

The good life was once a cozy, warm and safe existence. It stood against harsh words, mean acts, manipulation and violence. It was a world of benevolence where acts of fairness, compassion and love were incubated then birthed. But does it exist anymore? Is it in our day nothing but naïve blather; a way for losers to live? Most of us want a good life for our children. In preparation for that we want to guard them against the cruelties of life, against dishonesty and exploitation, against the jeers of the hateful and the trickery of the evil, against being hoaxed and suckered; to insulate them from heartlessness, brutality, mockery and spite. We want to teach them to live above this and be respectable citizens. But for some odious reason it seems that over and again that is a naïve approach to life for our children and for ourselves. The reality, we’re told, is to learn to fight, to mistrust people, to see through the lies that are always out there, to learn the ways of getting ...

I am mourning our country. Not the sham that is our politics. That stuff infuriates not saddens me. Not the pathetic Donald Trump. His dysfunction is real and alarming but he’s not the source of my grief. Not Hillary Clinton with her chameleon masks, her endlessly lavish suits, and her highbrow ownership of the Democratic Party. What a disappoint she has turned out to be. But I don’t weep over her. Not the professionally and morally bankrupt media either. Their selling out, their cowardice, their trivial pursuits drive me to scorn but not sorrow. No, I mourn for the real people in this country who desperately need a reliable government. I mourn for our veterans sent off to missions of disgrace and outrage only to return to us maimed, ruined, and dead. And all of that for lost causes and dishonest hype and the gluttony of a fraudulent Congress. I mourn for the poor, the homeless, the addicted, the disabled, and all Americans whose lives are daily embarrassed from lack of resour...

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” There is a story out of the days of Napoleon when the mad genius was plowing through Europe with fury. In the midst of battle one of his soldiers, just a boy really, was caught running away. Napoleon sentenced him to death. The young man’s mother pleaded for a hearing before the Emperor. When it was agreed, she told the Emperor the boy had been frightened, was too young to understand all that he was fighting for and against. She asked for mercy. Napoleon said the soldier had deserted his post, had betrayed his country, and left his comrades in danger. He said he did not deserve mercy. The woman said, “But your Eminence, if he deserved it, it wouldn’t be mercy.” Can we show mercy to Donald Trump? Can we look beyond his bravado and outrageousness to see the pretender he is? A frightened and insecure man operating from a deep need to be approved, praised, and loved. A man who can, in limited capacities, show love to others. Ca...

The politics of our day is a deadening force. The angry divisiveness, the arrogant partisanship of it all, the refusal to cooperate with others, the obsession of winning at all costs even if it costs the nation its dignity and its worth, is a bitter reality. I’m unclear as to what brought us here. Why our politicians failed to evolve and became instead a crowd of petty, juvenile, angry, warped and one-sided tyrants is debatable but it discredits all of us. It is impossible to move the country forward if our chief lawmakers have no interest in anything but their own political careers; if they care about nothing but holding onto their elected offices even if it requires them to compromise themselves into some form of prostitution, the selling of themselves to corporate giants and the czars of finance. Which many if not most have already done. Our current presidential campaign is a humiliating display of defective candidates. The Republicans have paraded before us a crowd of ...