Here we are again, at the beginning of yet another year. Let’s hope it is an improvement on the last. The highlights of this past year have been two events …
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Refute your friends and family, never be satisfied. Philosopher Agnes Callard on life lessons from Socrates.
The post Argue Your Way to a Fuller Life appeared first on Nautilus.
1. “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But by all means, keep moving.”
2. “Why would Kim Jong Un insult me by calling me ‘old,’ when I would NEVER call him ‘short and fat’? Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend — and maybe someday that will happen!”
3. “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
4. “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.”
5. “When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love.”
6. “The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter of Valley Forge, found glory across the waters of the Delaware, and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown. Our army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do.”
“When I started working for Rolling Stone, I really thought I was doing journalism. And then I quickly realized I wasn’t, because I had a point of view.”
Finally, and not a moment too soon, our government will look, smell, and act like the real America. Not an Ivy League college campus, not a melting pot of immigrants striving to achieve the American dream, but instead an endlessly replenishing stream of shout-talking men outraged that people with disabilities or families with children who are offered extra assistance actually take it, along with a steady diet of morning beers, explosive rage, and ketchup.
It’s far past time for those who “govern” to demonstrate the same lack of awareness as everyone pretending not to know what boarding group they’re in. And why did we win January 6 if not for the right to berate underpaid service workers who aren’t allowed to unionize and also so we can have both pizza and tequila shots for breakfast? Why was 9/11 an inside job if not for our hard-won ability to wear pajama bottoms and inflatable neck pillows in public and constantly have to relearn through the application of loud buzzing sounds and shame that jewelry is made of metal? And what was the whole point of all those genocides if not to have unlimited access to themed socks and overpriced regional T-shirts?
General Electric, once one of the most important companies in America started firing the bottom 10% of performers every yearwhen Jack Welch took over. Seems smart, right? Strangely, however, GE was driven into the ground by Welch. It made a lot of money, for a while, but it was burning down the house and now it’s a has been company. The routine firing wasn’t the only reason, but it was part of it.
Lately I’m seeing companies like Meta and Microsoft saying they’re doing large lay-offs of the lowest performers. Seems smart, eh?
- by Psyche Film
Ahead of Trump’s second term, Democratic and Republican lawmakers are advancing sweeping measures to make life harder for immigrants.
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- by Eric Schwitzgebel
The secretaries of defense and state will play key roles in U.S. policy on Israel, but they faced little scrutiny on Palestinian suffering.
The post Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio Get a Pass on Suffering in Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
