Category: Future

Information in the Digital Age

 

 

We exist in a period of instant access to information both great and small. There was a time in the not so distant past when people might expect privacy in their lives. Today that is becoming a fantasy of times gone by, that we run the risk of consigning to the dustbin of history. Cameras are everywhere, and facial recognition software hardwired into the camera we are told creates safety in our lives.  If you carry a smartphone, then GPS tracks your location continually. I’m sure we all had those annoying popups on our phones asking us if we’ve been to some restaurant or store. When we visit websites, our IP addresses are tracked back to our location and saved into memory, tracking cookies are embedded that overcome VPNs and still identify who we are. They tell us all of this is for our safety. Continue reading “Information in the Digital Age”

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The lost art of Friendship

Friendship is the bedrock of any society. Strong connections with others that have similar goals in life are instrumental in leading a productive and healthy life. As we have become advanced in so many ways, the societal norms have changed dramatically as well. There was once something called social contract, a series of unwritten rules that everyone followed that made for a more harmonious existence. This construct has become muddied over the decades until we are left with isolated pockets where they still exist but in ramshackle form. Other areas are devoid of any social construct, and society has seemingly reverted to its roots of tribalism and dog eat dog.  Continue reading “The lost art of Friendship”

The Season of Renewal

It is that time of the year again! The grass will become green, flowers will bloom, and mother nature will embrace us with its warmth. This is my favorite time of the year because everything that was once devoid of vibrancy will blossom into radiant beauty. It is also the time for all of us to take stock of our lives and renew our sense of purpose. This time of the year has no room for negativity and only a positive outlook on the future. I am infused with a purpose and strength that I never feel at any other time of the year and am looking forward to the challenges ahead.  Continue reading “The Season of Renewal”

The Resolute

Existence is challenged by the persistence of time. Its passage ravages all things and grinds them into dust. However, examples abound in nature that proves that resolve can lessen the deteriorating effect and allows some objects to last for millions of years.  The mountains we see today are the product of plate tectonics and receding glaciers that carved jagged peaks that have existed long before any human being was on earth. These mammoth structures do erode over time, but they have been in existence long before us and will remain long after we are gone.  Change is a constant that there can be no dispute. The earth is made of sterner stuff those most of its inhabitants. Many are all too happy to be carried away by whatever external force prods them. Like leaves upon the wind, they glide through life with no discernable self-control. This form of existence is the easy path in life, and more often the easy route isn’t the correct one. 

Continue reading “The Resolute”

Sins of the Past

History is a subject that many fail to comprehend. The horrors of past are the most oft-repeated and what many will cite when questioned about their knowledge of the matter. Lessons from history though never quite sink into the human psyche. While the actor’s appearance may change over millennia, the results of their actions are repeated over and over again. We so often fail to appreciate the significance of the mistakes made by those that have come before us. We tend to be stubborn and resolutely follow the same patterns once tread by our ancestors and never learn the significance of their mistakes until we too fall into the same quandary. Religion teaches us morals and is a guideline by which to live a righteous lifestyle. Too often though, I see those espousing such beliefs while not truly understanding the moral responsibility that they have to question poor behavior when they learn of it. They tend to equivocate endlessly when a sin is brought to the forefront of conversation to which they have also fallen prey.  Continue reading “Sins of the Past”

The Felonious Nature of Choice

We are told life is about choice and to some degree that is true. It’s when you drill down into the minutiae of life that you begin to see how few options we as individuals have. Through advertising, we are told what is acceptable and on what we should spend our money. The government tells us how we must conduct our lives, where we can live, and what we can do on property that is supposed to be ours. I speak of property not just concerning assets but as each person owning one’s self. We are taxed for every moment we exist. This seems to be the antithesis of self-determination and forging one’s path.  Continue reading “The Felonious Nature of Choice”

Neglection of Fidelity in Modern Society

Life can be tricky. We do not choose our families, but through life, if we are fortunate we get to select a few close friends with which to face the struggle. If our luck is even better, we find someone whom we can share our dreams and desires for the future. We’ve all heard the stories of couples that have been together for up to sixty years. I can’t help but marvel at the beauty of such a journey with a partner as loyal as one that would remain for such a time. Stories such as this have been decreasing in number though, as my age increases exponentially. Continue reading “Neglection of Fidelity in Modern Society”

A Case for the Sovereign State

 

History is filled with empires that have risen and then fallen, usually through a gradual decline. These entities grew larger until governing them became a perilous endeavor. There are countless theories as to why such empires collapsed, but I believe it is due to a culture clash among the radically different populations intermingling and attempting to find common ground on which to agree. Some cultures are capable of assimilating rather well, but some are so wholly different from one another that it makes assimilation near impossible. Today, the clarion call of pop culture seems to be diversity. I submit this diversity is a term of little meaning. Diversity is great as long as everyone thinks similarly to those extolling its virtues from the hilltops.  In fact, this term is merely masking the autocrats among us that wish to instill one government among all nations, abolish religion, and to instruct the people’s of this earth on what to believe. Real diversity is in keeping our unique cultures and control over the destiny of our countries. Continue reading “A Case for the Sovereign State”

Intellectual Apathy

We are fortunate to be alive at a time when almost limitless knowledge is at our fingertips. There is little a person can’t discover if they put their mind to it. In what amounts to a paradox, it seems that people are more ill-informed than they were in previous decades. We have become a society that has machines to make our jobs easier, and we expect others that we deem more intellectually advanced than us to think about the more problematic subtleties of life. We have become intellectually lazy and in effect have allowed others to think for us. We seem all too content to think about this week’s sports contest as if it matters and enable our advancement forward to be thought out and implemented by others. Civilization as we have come to know it can’t exist as we now know it if we don’t teach future generations the importance of learning. Continue reading “Intellectual Apathy”

An Absence of Merit

Early in life one is instructed in the ways of the world, or so it seems. We are told that the right man/woman for the job will always be chosen by their specific qualifications. The instruction we receive also stresses the importance of a proper education so we can better compete in the fickle job market. So we slave away sure that all of our hard work will pay off in the end. Once we encounter the true nature of the world, we discover it is far less discerning than we’ve been told. In fact, that life is far less evolved and much more petty. Continue reading “An Absence of Merit”