Category: Social Justice

A Different Approach for Aid Money

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Just Give the Damn Stuff Away – Turns Out, That Works

 

Ethical and Practical Reasons Governments Help People

Just to set the stage for this discussion, let’s remind ourselves why governments assist those who are less fortunate at some point in their lives. There are, of course, many reasons, but two tend to be the most prevalent:

It’s the Right and Moral Thing to Do: Most cultures and religions have a core belief that we should help others who are in various states of need. This is especially true for children,

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Last Round in the Contest for an American Socio-Economic System

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Time to Make a Choice! And the Winner Is….

Part Four of a Four-Part Series on Choosing a Socio-Economic System for America

A Short Review of What We Have Noted Across the Various Options

In doing a very large-scale, low-resolution examination of the three primary socio-economic systems on offer, we noted the following:

  • Terminology counts. We must be clear about terms if our decisions are to have meaning.
  • Every system has its strengths and weaknesses; none are anywhere close to perfect.
  • Every system will fail at some point,

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Let the Contest Begin!

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First Contestant: Capitalism

A Four-Part Series on Choosing a Socio-Economic System for America

 

Ah, Yes. This One is Familiar

We start this little review and exploration of systems with capitalism in large part because it is the incumbent in America, and the one most of us know best. Well, at least we know a version of it. More on that later.

We begin or review of these systems on Friday the 13th. What could possibly go wrong?!

Remember our analogy we set up to evaluate these systems?

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Capitalism? Socialism? Something Else?

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Our Choice of a Socio-Economic System Determines About Everything

 

Something New for Agents of Reason – A Four Part Series

Well, We Do Pick Easy, Simple Topics Here, Don’t We?

 It’s summertime, so I thought, “What the heck! Let’s pick something easy to deal with. How about choosing a socio-economic system for the US going forward? That shouldn’t take more than a couple of weeks.”

 Kidding aside, this is a conversation going on in fits and starts around the country, and its one we need to have.

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Profiles in Courage

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Let’s Acknowledge Political and Physical Courage When We See It

 

Who Rises to the Challenge?

Fate, history if you will, has a way of calling on people at inconvenient times. One day, you are just minding your own business, the next you are thinking about risking everything. Funny how that happens. It is endlessly fascinating to watch how this plays out, as it does, every day, all around the world, in large and small venues. For me, the quote from Dr. King at the start of this blog post says it all.

What separates those who rise from those who fall short is most often the failure to ask the final question in the quote.

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Hey! Did You See This?

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A Small But Varied Collection of Fun/Interesting Things Found Online

 

Smorgasbord Time

Every so often we take a break from focusing on one thing to share some assorted tidbits that seem worth sharing. Today is such a day. Hope you enjoy these as much as I have. Most are short descriptions of and reflections on interesting articles, along with links to those articles. The last two are simply me thinking out loud. One never knows what will bubble to the top of my (or your) brain; here are a couple for today.

10 Books About Geopolitics

One of my disappointments in high school (boy,

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Psst! Hey, Catholic Bishops – Can We Talk?

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I have a Question

 

You May Have Heard What the Bishops are Up to of Late

American Catholic bishops recently took a drastic step. They went on record, by a hefty margin, recommending that local catholic authorities withhold the sacrament of the Eucharist for President Biden. The wording is more general, but everyone recognizes Biden is the target. They will decide in November on doing this or not.

Just to remind, the Eucharist (Communion) is ritual the church believes channels divine grace. It takes inspiration from the Last Supper. Participants consume bread and wine.

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You Say You Love Your Country? OK – Let’s See What That Means

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Love is a Complicated Thing – with a Person or a Country

 

America – Love It or Leave It

Remember that phrase? It was not a new sentiment, but the phrase became part of the national lexicon during the Nixon era. The national divisions over the Vietnam war had developed into a broader national division. Nixon and Agnew fanned the divisions and that phrase got repeated (most often, got yelled) a lot.

The implication, of course, was that any criticism of the country, and by extension of the government, was wrong and was unpatriotic.

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This Blog Began Because of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

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How NOT to Solve a Problem – And Lessons for the Rest of Us

 

Why Comment on This Now?

Goodness knows, everyone has a column about the conflict in recent days, but I felt compelled to add my two cents worth for a number of reasons. This has major moral, political, and security implications for a lot of people, including us. And lessons to be learned, if we will.

I visited Israel and Lebanon some years ago. I came back more depressed and worried than when I arrived. What I saw,

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A Year Ago, We Set Out Benchmarks for a New Administration

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So, How are They Measuring Up on Our To-Do List?

 

Our Hopes in Early 2020

We had no idea in the JAN-MAR 2020 timeframe who would be the US President by this time. We hoped it would be just about anyone except He Whose Name Shall Not Be Spoken. With that hope in mind, this blog listed, over a period of the first quarter of 2020, a set of goals that we hoped a new administration would pursue. One list was of legislative goals, the other a list of political reforms.

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