Owner: Control Y URL:http://cntrly.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:50:42 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: About ideas in modern America. Topics revolve around democracy, capitalism, and evolution, with related forays into areas such as daily living, philosophy, literature, and the meaning of life. Site statistics:Click here
Existentialism (nowhere to be found) in America 2008-09-27 01:13:00 Democracy, freedom of speech, protected privacy…what next? Revolution’s won. Freedom. Independence. What do you do now? Oddly enough, these questions formed the core of Tocqueville’s fascination with America
.His treatise, Democracy in America, is not so much a well-documented historical work as it’s an essay about the changing face of humanity - about an era which may later be seen as a ti
The Internet, conceptually 2008-09-21 00:26:00 Ever wonder what it’d be like to view the world for the first time, as a complete stranger? So did Tocqueville view America. He saw it through the eyes of a skeptic. Yet he was immensely drawn to it – the “experiment of democracy”, its citizens’ buzzing political fervor, freedom at a level that the world had not yet known. America somehow reflected the good, the bad, and the ugly of hum Read more:Internet
Chameleon 2008-10-13 14:47:00 Freedom is a cornerstone of Church doctrine. When left “in his own counsel,” the argument goes, man “might of his own accord seek his creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection.” It’s fitting that America welcomed religion with open arms.Tocqueville ascribed it partly to the power of free choice. Freedom strengthens conviction. People are more dedicated to those things tha
Liberation 2008-09-29 21:12:00 “The unhappiness of men arises from one single fact: that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber.” - Pascal’s Pensees (139), published posthumously in 1670. Keeping busy in America is seen as meritorious; while solitary confinement is the harshest of all punishments.Silent confinement, Pascal believed, forces you to face the demon underbelly of existence. It resembles a truth too mis Read more:Liberation
fMRI: The Argument of Authority 2008-11-02 15:20:00 Science in America has replaced religion. Not in all aspects – science will never be held in people’s hearts like religion, but the two tread on the same ground, by some arguments they stab at the same questions. Both are paradigms for explanation, and they’re competing for space - science’s gains in status speak more to scientific progress than to religious decline. In a funny way though, Read more:Argument
, Authority
Mr. Market goes to Washington 2008-10-18 00:16:00 Mr. Market
is the raging lunatic screaming on CNBC and CSPAN-2 straight from midnight till 3 am about the market. He's the guy who comes into your office and recommends a new stock pick everyday - guaranteed to go up. We’ve all met him, or at least seen his stereotype in Hollywood. He’s speculation incarnate. The problem currently facing the nation is that Mr. Market, it appears, is moving fro Read more:Washington
"Epidemic of Civic Illiteracy", Arrogance 2008-11-20 22:47:00 I didn’t make up those words, they come from a Josiah Bunting III: "There is an epidemic of economic, political, and historical ignorance in our country.” According to his institution’s new study: Only half of American adults know what all of the branches in US government are. Almost four tenths of them falsely think that the president has the right to declare war. And a whopping %43 percent Read more:Civic
Cross Traffic Does Not Stop 2008-11-15 15:30:00 Browse through reviews of self-help books and you’ll find two tones: Praise garnished with revelation, and criticism along the lines of simplistic, obvious, common-sense. There’s no secret to happiness – how many times have you heard that – but it’s easy to forget. In the meanwhile, there are other things to remember: Whenever you greet and part with the day you're asked to brush your te Read more:Cross
Light Cafes 2008-11-09 12:24:00 I'm mostly a nonfiction guy - both in reading & writing - but sometimes I can't help myself from giving fiction a go. It's great at giving your mind a break from the world & letting your imagination take over. So I figured why not occasionally post some fiction on here. So here's a fictional piece I recently wrote. It was distinctly inspired by 2 works: Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon, a hardco
Price of Health Care 2008-11-07 22:20:00 I voted for McCain. There, the cat’s out of the box. I was undecided for a while, interested but not very passionate either way. I recently started Thomas Sowell’s epic on economics (Basic Economics), and the opening discussion about prices tilted me towards McCain.His Basic Economics is built upon price – as in, the price that any item costs. Prices pack an incredible amount of info: It inc Read more:Health
, Health Care
Top 15 of 2008 2009-01-04 02:28:00 I thought about doing one of those year-end lists (like best CDs of the year) but I'm never very in touch with what's been released any given year. And furthermore half the time I find myself amazed by old things as if they were new (like a few years ago when I discovered Marvin Gayes' 1971 R&B classic, What's Goinig On). Society has a strong preference for the new, but sometimes old ideas can
Thru Fragments of Cinema: (New Years) Resolution 2008-12-31 21:25:00 Life gains meaning through taking responsibility.I’ve heard that a few times in my life in a few different contexts. The latest is from an unexpected source - my improv acting teacher. (A few months ago I capriciously decided to sign up for improv acting classes, inspired thru this article.) We witness great art, he claims, when characters own up and take responsibility for things. Part of it is Read more:Fragments
, Cinema
, Years
, Resolution
, New Years
What are you fighting for? 2008-12-28 16:30:00 So many people these days have a chip on their shoulder. It’s not always a bad thing – there’s nothing inherently wrong with believing in something and wanting to improve the world. But I can’t help but think they’re missing the bigger picture. The other day, for instance, my neighbor got pissed that I was parking on her public dead-end road. There weren't any houses around, although a b
Bad Policy Kills 2008-12-20 17:04:00 It’s estimated that Soviet Russia’s government killed at least 20 million of its own citizens. Higher estimates are triple that around 60 million, lower estimates are around 7 million. 6 million Jews are thought to have died in the holocaust, and yet holocaust victims are given infinitely more memorials and museums than Soviet Russia’s. Part of this is in response to the sheer idea of the pl Read more:Policy
, Kills
Piece of Fiction: Day at a Time 2008-12-18 21:41:00 Here's another piece of fiction, a vignette. It's loosely based on one of my mornings a month or 2 ago, and then recently committed to paper during - for the better or worse like some other posts - a boring speech at a conference.________________________10am he stepped out the house door to wind-swept streets. He’d overslept, but the extra hours of sleep they inspired a calm rather than a hurry. Read more:Fiction
"Financial psychopaths wreak havoc." 2008-12-16 07:17:00 I try to keep an open mind specifically in spite of my opinions. Capitalism works, but scandals like the Madoff one do test my so called "faith". Forbes went so far as to call Madoff a financial psychopath in response to his peculiarly candid admission of guilt. What if, I think, one quarter of all CEO’s turn out to be engaged in scandal? Then again, politicians aren't perfect either, and givin Read more:Financial
Education won't set you free 2008-12-07 16:20:00 Academia is at an awkward intersection between public and private. It’s partly a product of our wealth and compulsory education. No matter how much education is supplied by the government, there will be private demand for a little more so that some people can purchase and earn an edge over others. At the same time, public education now sets its sights beyond high school. State universities and s Read more:Education
Judge not, that ye be judged 2008-12-04 22:48:00 “Who are these losers?” I asked myself 15 minutes into the 2007 documentary, Confessions of a Superhero. The film tracks the lives of a rare breed of pan handlers crossed with superheroes located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Dressed as superheroes of their choosing, they coax passersby into getting a picture with them in return for a tip. The film focuses on four of these faux-heroes' backgr Read more:Judge
The Good, the Bad, and the Positive 2008-11-27 09:58:00 Enron collapsed when it did for a reason. The business had the unfortunate luck of rising to power during the bull market of the 90’s. The company subsequently hid its ever mounting debt behind a rising stock price. So long as it looked legit on the outside, and investors continued to invest, it could smooth over massive losses – a strategy that was uniquely tailored to a bull market, but whic Read more:Positive
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