Below is yesterday’s “poem for the day” from Garrison Keillor’s “Writer’s Almanac.” There’s a lot to like here, but one thing that I want to comment on is “Don’t think that progress exists. It doesn’t.” Well, that’s a downer, and …
Tag: Magna Carta
Is Civilization Making Progress?
Tagged with: and the U.S. Constitution, authoritarian governments popping up all around the globe, Magna Carta, rise of tribalism, the abolition of slavery, the Age of Reason, the civil rights movement, The Enlightenment, the French Revolution, the Geneva Convention, the Renaissance, the United Nations, women's suffrage
Is Human Civilization Reversing Course?
Errr…no. This has been a weird little perturbation in the political scene, much like the witch trials in 1692; the phenomenon came and went, and a year later, most people of that place and time couldn’t even explain how it …
Tagged with: civil rights, environmentalism, gay marriage, Magna Carta, the abolition of slavery, the Age of Reason, the end of legal segregation, The Enlightenment, the feminist movement/gender equality, the French Revolution, the Renaissance, the U.S. Constitution, women's suffrage, workers' rights
Are We Making Progress as a Civilization?
A friend wrote to me last night: I will tell you, Craig, I was so utterly horrified by the dolphin video (that she had shared on Facebook, re: Japan’s considering dolphins pests and slaughtering them wholesale) I doubt I will …
The Arc of the Moral Universe: What Can We Expect?
Here’s a question posed by a certain Steve Charleston: I have a simple question for people of faith around the world: must it always be so? Must human history always be written as the aftermath of competition between the few …
The Arc of the Moral Universe: What Can We Expect? Read More »
Tagged with: Age of Reason, ascendancy of Donald Trump, but it bends towards justice, Climate Change, end of Apartheid, Enlightenment, human civilization has become increasingly rational less brutal, it's up to every person of decency and compassion to make a daily effort to bend the arc of the moral universe in the right direction, loss of biodiversity, Magna Carta, ocean acidification, prospect of world fascism, Renaissance, the abolition of slavery, The Arc of the Moral Universe, The arc of the moral universe is long, the Geneva Convention, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, U.S. Constitution, women's suffrage
The Effect of Raising One’s Voice
Re: my post on Bill McKibben speaking about the U.S. presidential election, frequent gainsayer MarcoPolo writes: Advocates like Mckibben may get cheers from the “converted” but many Democrats will stay away from the polls because they don’t like his rhetoric. …
Being Realistic About Renewable Energy
In response to my post Why Venture Capital Isn’t Embracing CleanTech, MarcoPolo makes a lengthy and deeply thoughtful comment, which I excerpt here: ….(You are) a little blind to the harsher side of reality. You tend to see the world as …
Is Environmentalism a Fad?
As I wrote the other day, the concept of environmentalism in Western culture (or at least any real popularizing of the idea) is almost brand new. It dates to the mid-20th Century, and can be said to have begun with …
The National Defense Authorization Act: A Wrecking Ball Against the U.S. Constitution, Natural Rights
As readers here know, I take my hat off to those who bravely and consistently speak up about the loss of liberty here in the U.S., and elsewhere around the planet. Among the most vocal spokespeople (and certainly one of …
Celebrating a Rare Victory in Civil Liberties
Every once in a while there’s good news for those of us concerned that our liberties are being subjugated, and our democracy eroded away from under our feet. As I had written previously: The 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) …
