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the only hell.
It’s no secret that I can be fairly jealous. Still, hear me out.
Hell is living in the past.
For a jealous person that can make sense. Yeah, it’s hell to keep going back.
But that’s not all jealousy is and that’s certainly not all the past is.
Like I said, hear me out.
Hell is living in the past. The good we want to live again. (we’ve been watching old home movies and there is a huge part of me that wants to go back in many ways and appreciate it more.) The bad we may want to redo. It doesn’t matter. We can’t live there. It’s hell to try.
Yes, we can learn from it.
Yes, we can appreciate it.
Yes, we can be grateful.
Yes, we should go to therapy if we need to in order to not live there.
Because we can’t.
There is a reason Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is now. There is a reason the mystics across every religion (or lack thereof) constantly encourage living in the present moment.
The next time you’re tempted to go and live in the past, it might be exactly that: a temptation.
And if there is an afterlife, it’s really going to suck for people who want to continually live in some kind of past.
(Read Insipid. It talks more about this.)
the muse.
Since Sunday, the stories about Kobe keep coming - and I’m so grateful and sad and just torn up about the whole thing. Jason Witten (tight end for the Dallas Cowboys) recounting what he learned from Kobe - which was apparently his mantra - was “you can’t cheat the muse”. Kobe was known for his hard work, dedication, discipline, unrelenting competitive spirt and insistence on excellence and it’s all captured in that “you can’t cheat the muse” saying.
You can cheat yourself, your coach, your boss, your partner, your ego, but you can’t cheat the muse.
What is the muse?
Well, I go to Pressfield for that - which may not be what Kobe was thinking but I like it for myself.
“The Muse,” as I imagine her, is the collective identity of the nine goddesses, sisters, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory), whose charge it is to inspire artists. Other names for this mysterious force might be the Unconscious, the Self, the Quantum Soup. Whatever it is, it represents the unseen dimension of Potentiality that is either within us or beyond us. It’s where ideas come from.
We can’t cheat the unseen dimension of potentially that is either within us or beyond us. We just can’t.
Shit, that’s good.
maybe it's this...
Okay I won’t keep talking about Pharisees vs Jesus but like I already said, this kind of stuff gets in my head pretty easily and I really want some kind of “grasp” on it.
Which I think I got while falling asleep last night.
Jesus judged “Pharisees” - not “Steve”, “Debbie,”, or “Justin”. It was a group, a system, a structure, a way of doing things.
The Pharisees judged Jesus, that woman caught in adultery, this tax collector,
I’m long past reading the Bible very literally (when I read it) so my take is this:
It’s much better to judge systems and structures and religions, rather than the people they make.
More empathy to individuals and more judgement for systems.
Tear down the systems, build up the human.
I can live with that.
(Comments are on now - sorry about that.)
Jesus vs Pharisees
The reason I asked the question yesterday was because it’s really important. Very important. If it can’t be answered, or even if it can, it not only excuses but encourages the judging kind of attitude that lots of us don’t like - even if we do it - in religious people.
So… why wasn’t Jesus a bit of a Pharisee? Or was he? And what the hell does it mean for followers of Jesus to “be perfect like Jesus”? Does that mean followers of Jesus have a holy book mandate to be a little bit of a Pharisee themselves and to judge people as long as they are judging the “right” people? I mean that would justify much of what is done (in their own heads) in the name of Jesus by many of his followers - which doesn’t make it right or wrong but damn, it makes it complicated when your holy teacher does the very thing you aren’t supposed to do - which means you can do it to certain people and are, actually, supposed to as long as it’s the right certain people. Which is complicated.
Which really got me thinking about the differences between Jesus and Pharisees because stuff like this bugs the hell out of me.
Here’s where I’m at. (Staying within the reason and world of most Christians - i.e. not just assuming it’s all made up or Jesus was a fraud, etc…)
Both judged people. So… judging is not as bad as it’s made out to be.
Pharisees judged people for not being “holy” enough or “good” or “in” or whatever label.
Jesus judged people for burdening others, for being hypocrites, fake, and for number 2 above.
Apparently, if you’re going to judge people, it’s better to go for no. 3 but not no. 2.
No. 3 and No. 2 are diametrically opposed and yet tied together and very subjective. Jesus and Pharisees tied “holy”, “good”, “burden”, and “hypocrite” to different things which justified them both even if for different reasons.
The evangelical feels they have every right to judge the pro-abortion person for being a hypocrite and evil and a burden on society.
The post-christian feels they have every right to judge the no. 6 evangelical for the same reasons.
We’re kinda screwed here.
So I might end it this way.
Making someone feel as though they don't measure up is risky business. It’s best to limit it to people who make others feel as though they don’t measure up. Which of course is an endless cycle that doesn’t get anyone anywhere because then we’re always judging on whether someone is making someone feel as though they don’t measure up and then making sure they know they don’t measure up we’re now the person making someone feel as though they don’t measure up.
So… maybe it’s this. Judging is always subjective. Always has been and always will be. If we’re going to do that, just know that. Jesus did it and knew it, Pharisees did it and knew it. Don’t use either group to justify or condemn anything.
I don’t know if that’s very satisfactory to me, to be honest. I’ll keep thinking. Thoughts?
An honest question...
From a conversation I recently had with my brother.
When Jesus said don’t judge, and then went on to judge - in very harsh words - the Pharisees, what, if anything, made him different than being a Pharisee himself?
the light and the dark.
THE DARKNESS IS FAR MORE CLEVER THAN THE EVIL WE’VE BEEN SOLD…
BECAUSE
THE LIGHT IS FAR MORE INSPIRING THAN THE LIES WE’VE BEEN TOLD.
I’ve been thinking on this… If the light isn’t very bright, we don’t need a darkness that is very bright either. It’s a little similar to what Brené Brown says in regards to emotions - we can’t just avoid negative emotions - we avoid them all or none of them. They go hand in hand. We don’t get to cherry pick.
I think our views of light and dark are similar.
So we shouldn’t be afraid to believe in a real smart, real clever, real conniving darkness… one that is probably in our head, manipulating us, right now, even if we think it isn’t… it only means that the light is that much more inspiring, unifying, mysterious, present, and beautiful… and we have a fun journey ahead trying to see it, taste it, find it, and feel it through the shadows trying to mask it.
(Note: Most devils are pretty stupid and most gods are pretty uninspiring. which only affirms in some weird loop the original problem and seems to point to the fact that there is probably some kind of real clever darkness and… thus some kind of big cover-up going on because the light is way bigger than we even thought it could be… and… we’re back into to the loop of the original sentence… : )
Also this is the foundation of Insipid. I hope you read it if you haven’t already. www.insipidbook.com
we only get to pick one...
ARROGANT. Making claims or pretensions to superior importance or rights; overbearingly assuming; insolently proud / characterized by or proceeding from arrogance, or a sense of superiority, self-importance, or entitlement.
IGNORANT. Lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned / lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact / uninformed; unaware / due to or showing lack of knowledge or training.
We only get to pick one.
We can be as ignorant as we want but then we can’t be arrogant.
We can be as arrogant as we want but then we can’t be ignorant.
The two of them together are fire, poison, nuclear waste, pollution, wicked, evil, terrible, destructive, etc…
it's greed. just greed.
“Greed is the root of all evil…” - a wise man (Jesus) once said.
“But whereas compassion, forgiveness and love are part of the moral code of the world’s religions, capitalism is characterised by precisely the opposite: greed, selfishness and avarice…” another wise man (Raoul Martinez) once said.
We have to always be careful to say if A=B then B=A or C or whatever… but that said… it’s not a stretch to say…
“Capitalism is the root of all evil.”
I mean it’s at least worth thinking about for a bit.
the nerves...
After a recent event that had me feeling big butterflies, some stress, and quite a few nerves… that ended up being an absolutely amazing experience and night, it hit met again:
There aren’t too many amazing, memorable, inspiring moments in our lives that are not proceeded by butterflies, nerves, sleepless nights, pits in our stomach, a little stress, a little anxiety, a little trepidation? Right?
We generally don’t get to choose. Like Brené Brown once said, we can’t selectively numb our emotions - we get them all or we get none of them.
If we want amazing experiences, look for butterflies and nerves.
If we don’t have any nerves or butterflies, well… chances are slim for amazing experiences in the near future.
The best news? Feeling nerves? Awesome! Something amazing is most likely around the corner.
grounding.
Speaking of grounding…
I once heard someone describe “karma” as “If you plant a peach seed in the ground, a peach tree will grow.”
At the end of the day, maybe it’s the most rational and convincing form of morally that exists for the atheist and the religious.
If we plant a numbing seed, a numbing tree will grow.
If we plant a cynical seed, a cynical tree will grow.
If we plant a grateful seed, a grateful tree will grow.
If we plant a kind seed, a kind tree will grow.
What kind of forest do we want to live in?
freedom + grounding.
Freedom without grounding is an eternal float in outer space.
Freedom without grounding is a fish with nothing to contain its water.
Freedom without grounding is the ability to do anything with no ability to decide why or why not.
Religion has historically been a source of grounding.
I think that has been its main attraction. At its best
it has served well to counteract the boundless limits of freedom.
Grounding without freedom is a prison.
Grounding without freedom is a wild lion trapped inside the cage of a zoo.
Grounding without freedom is the full knowledge of right and wrong without the ability to choose either.
“Secular” culture has historically been a source of freedom.
I think that has been its main attraction. At its best
It has served well to counteract the claustrophobia of grounding.
The challenge is to live in the gray of them both
to avoid the extremes of either
rejecting the false groundings
for the productive and authentic ones
rejecting the false freedoms
for the productive and authentic ones.
True freedom isn’t afraid of grounding
True grounding isn’t afraid of freedom
Which might the only way to find the gray
Leave fear behind.
200 pharisees...
Jesus talks quite often about Pharisees. It’s a label thrown around a lot inside of “Christian” circles and ascribed to all kinds of people. Part of the reason I never want to throw out the Bible in its entirety is because it contains stories and parallels that are relevant and informing of our situation today.
If you want to know what a pharisee looks like at the end of 2019, here is a list of 200 of them.
—-
Lourdes Aguirre
President
United Marketing Solutions
Stephen Alessi
Pastor
Metro Life Church
Chuck Allen
Pastor
Sugar Hill Church
Rev. Rick Amato
Dream Believe Institute
Wellington , FL
Doug Anderson
Pastor
Rose Heights Church
Michele Bachmann
US House of Representatives
Fmr. Member, Minnesota
Marty Baker
Pastor
Steven’s Creek Church
Rev. Wesley Baldwin, PhD
Lead Pastor
Aloma Church
Luke Barnett
Pastor
Dream City Church
Tommy Barnett
Pastor
Dream City Church
Gary Bauer
President
American Values
Henry Becarra
Pastor
City Church International
Steve Berger
Pastor
Grace Chapel - Nashville
Gary W. Blackard
President & CEO
Adult & Teen Challenge USA
Paul Blair
Fairview Baptist Church
Liberty Pastors Network
John Blanchard
Pastor
Rock Church International
Bill Bolin
Pastor
Floodgate Church
Ryan Bomberger
Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer
The Radiance Foundation
Mario Bramnick
President
Latino Coalition for Israel
Josh Brown
Founder & CEO
SoulHeart.co
Dr. Daniel Caamaño
President
Alma Vision Radio and Television
Paula White Cain
Paula White Ministries
Pastor, City of Destiny
Chris Cambas
CEO Relationscape
Founder / Chairman of Board Full Circle
Anita Christopher
President
West Michigan Prayer Center
Barry Clardy
Pastor
Princeton Pike Church of God
Dr. Tim Clinton
President
American Association of Christian Counselors
Bishop Kelvin L. Cobaris
Cobaris Ministries International
Paul Cole
Christian Men's Network
Cynthia Collins
Founder, SpeakHope.net
Global Advisor, OperationOutcry
Jack Countryman
Vice President & Publisher Emeritus
Ministry Development
Harper Collins
David Aaron Crabb
Pastor
Restoring Hope Church
Brad Dacus
Pacific Justice Institute
Dr.Jimmy L. De La O DDiv.
Founding Senior Pastor
Iglesia Cristiana Nuevo Pacto
Apostle Alberto Delgado
Senior Pastor
Alpha and Omega
Rachel Dennis
Awaken The Dawn
Dr. James Dobson
President
James Dobson Family Institute
Dave Donaldson
Co-founder and Chairman
CityServe International
Greg Dumas
Pastor
The Crossing Church
Dr. Kirk Elliott
Founder
Veribella Foundation
Jenna Ellis
Constitutional Law Attorney
Al Elmore
Senior Pastor
Lima Baptist Temple
Jerry Falwell Jr.
President
Liberty University
Joey Fine
Pastor
Seasons Church
Dan Fisher
Pastor
Fairview Baptist Church
Jentezen Franklin
Senior Pastor
Free Chapel
Jim Franklin
Pastor
Cornerstone Church
Dr. Gary D. Frazier,
President
Discovery Missions International
Dr. Day Gardner
President
National Black Pro-Life Union
Brian Gallardo
Pastor
LifeGate Church
Jim Garlow
Founder
Well Versed
Rosemary Schindler Garlow
Schindlers Ark
Dr. Nick Garza
NHCLC Board member
Sacramento, CA
James Gildwell
Pastor
Amazing Grace Baptist Fellowship
Bishop Anne Gimenez
Rock Ministerial Fellowship
Jack Graham
Senior Pastor
Prestonwood Baptist Church
Brad Graves
Senior Pastor
Ada First Baptist Church
Danny Gokey
Contemporary Christian Artist
Paul Marc Goulet
Pastor
International Church of Las Vegas
Rev. Mark Gurley
Director
Michigan Oak Initiative
Ken Gurley
Vice President/Director of Operations
National Apostolic Christian Leadership Conference.
Jon & Jolene Hamill
President
Lamplighter Ministries
Dr. Frank Harber, Ph.D., J.D.
President
The Institute for Christian Defense
Len Harper
Pastor
Overflow Church
Mike Hayes
Founder/President
Center for National Renewal
Skip Heitzig
Pastor
Calvary Church of Albuquerque
Randall Hekman
Director
Grand Awakening Prayer
Jim Henry
Pastor Emeritus FBC Orlando
Former SBC President
Robert Herber
Pastor
All Peoples Church
Jack Hibbs
Pastor
Calvary Chapel Chino Hills
Rev. Tim Hill
General Overseer
Church of God
Mark Hoover
Lead Pastor
NewSpring Church
Walter B. Hoye II
CEO
Issues4Life Foundation
Lori Hoye
CFO
Issues4Life Foundation
Mike Huckabee
Honorary National Chairman
My Faith Votes
Shane Idleman
Pastor
Westside Christian Fellowship
Bishop Harry Jackson
Pastor
Hope Christian Church
Brian Jacobs
Pastor
Metroplex Family Church
Dr. Mike & Cindy Jacobs
Founders
Generals International
Phillip Jauregui
Judicial Action Group
Dr. Thomas Jamieson
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Church of Mount Dora, FL
Obed Jauregui
Pastor, Betania Church
President of MBCS
Robert Jeffress
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Dallas
Brian & Jenn Johnson
Bethel Music
Travis Johnson
Church of God Executive Council Member
Dr. Brad Jurkovich
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Church Bossier City, LA
Troy Keaton
Pastor
EastLake Community Church
Becky Keenan
Pastor
President of One With Israel
Alveda King
Pastoral Associate, Priests for Life
Director, Civil Rights for the Unborn
Gary Kirouac
Tent America
David Kubal
CEO/President
Intercessors for America
Kelly Monroe Kullberg
Veritas Forum
Hank & Brenda Kunneman
Pastors
Lord of Hosts Church and One Voice Ministries
Greg Laurie
Senior Pastor
Harvest Christian Fellowship
Jerry Lawson
Pastor
Daystar Church
Todd Lamphere
Pastor of Global Outreach
City of Destiny
Chris Leader
Ignite Outreach
Greg Locke
Pastor
Global Vision Bible Church
Frank López
Senior Pastor, Doral Church
VP of Hispanic Association of Pastors
Cissie Graham Lynch
Samaritans Purse
Apostle Guillermo Maldonado
President and Senior Pastor
King JESUS Ministries
Tim Martin
Pastor
New Life Christian
Victor Marx
President & CEO
All Things Possible Ministries
Gregg Matte
Senior Pastor
Houston’s First Baptist Church
Bishop Joseph Mattera
Christ Covenant Coalition
Pastor Jurgen Matthesius
C3 Church San Diego
Overseer C3 Churches in the Americas
Bob McEwen
US House of Representatives
Fmr. Member, Ohio
Dr. David H. McKinley
Pastor-Teacher
Warren Baptist Church
Augusta GA
Dr. Yolanda McCune
Director
HAPN Kingdom Culture
Rev. Dusty McLemore
Senior Pastor
Lindsay Lane Baptist Church
Barry Meguiar
President Meguiar’s, Inc,
Founder, Revival Outside the Walls
Eric Metaxas
Author, Host
Eric Metaxas Radio Show
Jonathan Miller
Pastor
New Beginnings Church
Morgan Mitchell
Director
Grand Traverse House of Prayer
Pastor Sergio De La Mora
Cornerstone Church
Kent Morgan
President
Randall Bearings, Inc.
Robert Morris
Senior Pastor
Gateway Church
Pastor Tom Mullins
Senior Pastor
Christ Fellowship Florida
Penny Nance
CEO and President
Concerned Women for America
Rev. Dean Nelson
Chairman of the Board
Frederick Douglass Foundation
Dr. Malachi O’Brien
Former 2nd Vice President
Southern Baptist Convention
Tim Oldfield
Pastor
Potters House Church
Dr. Rod Parsley
Founder and Lead Pastor
World Harvest Church
Founder and Chancellor Valor Christian College
Ramiro A. Peña
Pastor
Christ the King Church
Tony Perkins
President
Family Research Council
Paul Pickern
Executive Director
All Pro Pastors
Chonda Pierce
Comedian
Dr. Everett Piper
Best Selling Author
Former University President
Dr. Anthony Ponceti
Director, South & Central America
All Pro Pastors International
Rob Price
Associate Professor, Communication Arts
Southwestern Assemblies of God University
Ralph Reed
President
Faith and Freedom Coalition
Steve Riggle
Pastor
Grace Church International
Rev. Dennis Rivera
Assemblies of God
NHCLC executive committee
Ernie Rivera
President
Las Americas Evangelistic Association
Marilyn Rivera
Pastor
President of Hispanic Association of Pastors
Juan Rivera
Executive Director
Hispanic Israel Leadership Coalition
Jeremy Roberts
Pastor
Thomasville Road Baptist Church
Wayne Roberts
Pastor
Bethel Baptist Church
Gerald Rohn
Pastor
First Renaissance Community Church of Sterling Michigan
Dudley Rutherford
Pastor
Shepherd of the Hills Church
Myles & Delana Rutherford
Pastors
Worship with Wonders Church
Dexter Sanders
Founder/President
Back 2 God Movement
Rick Scarborough
Recover America Now
Tom Schlueter
Texas Apostolic Prayer Network
Darrell & Belinda Scott
Pastor
New Spirit Revival Center
Tony Scott
Pastor
theChurch, Maumee
Mark Seppo
Pastor
Vassar Victory Center
Scott Sheppard
Pastor
Cornerstone Church
Danny Silk
President
Loving on Purpose
David Smith
Pastor
Oak Park Church
Ron Smith
Pastor
FBC At The Villages
Ted Squires
CEO Squires Global
Dr. Jay Strack
Founder
Student Leadership University
Mat Staver
Liberty Counsel
Darryl & Tracy Strawberry
Strawberry Ministries
Pastor Tom Sterbens
New Hope Church
Tony Stewart
Pastor
Citylife Church
Rev. Tony Suarez
Executive Vice President
National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
Lanny Swaim
Worship Artist
Michael Tait
Christian Music Artist
Zach Terry
Senior Pastor
Fernandina Beach, First Baptist Church
Claude Thomas
Former Executive Director
GP3
David Tipton
Vice President
National Apostolic Christian Leadership Conference.
LaNell Babbage-Torres
National Diversity Coalition
CT Townsend
Pastor
Victory Baptist Church
Pasqual Urrabazo
Pastor
International Church of Las Vegas
Andre Van Mol, MD
Elder
Bethel Church
Kris Vallotton
Senior Associate Leader
Bethel Church
Dr. Gilberto Velez
Founder and Senior Pastor for Iglesia Cristiana Misericordia
Chairman of the Board for National Hispanic leadership Conference.
Anthony Verdugo,
Founder and Executive Director
Christian Family Coalition (CFC)
Wendell Vinson
Pastor
Canyon Hills Church
Judy Wade
Uniting Our Hearts
Kevin Wallace
Pastor
Redemption to the Nations Church
Lance Wallnau
Lance Learning Group
Rick Warzywak
Director
Michigan Capitol House of Prayer
Wendy Waterson
Pastor
Sanctuary Ministries
Edward Watts
Pastor
Gateway Hope Center
Tom Winters
Winters & King Associates
Ken Whitten
Pastor
Idlewild Baptist Church
George Wood
Chairman
World Assemblies of God Fellowship
if you want to talk taxes part two...
In America, corporations essentially don't pay taxes.
• 91 companies in the Fortune 500 paid no taxes last year even though they are worth billions.
• About 400 of America’s largest corporations paid 11.3%.
• “Video game maker Activision Blizzard had $447 million in profits but received a tax rebate of $243 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of -54.4%. The company went on to shed 800 jobs in the early weeks of 2019.”
So, yes the economy is booming. Praise be.
We’re also running the largest deficits in the history of America - our annual deficit has gone from 587 billion when President Trump took office in January 2017 to 984 billion in 2019.
That’s 4.6% GDP.
Meanwhile…
Remember the chart from a while ago with America the third lowest tax rate in the world?
France has the highest taxes… their budget deficit is at a 12 year low. 2.5% GDP.
Denmark (#2) will be at 0.2% GDP after a budget surplus last year!
Belgium (#3) is panicking - their deficit will be 1.3% of GDP.
Sweden (#4) recorded a budget surplus! Yeah surplus.
Finland (#5) is at 0.7% GDP for 2018.
Again the U.S. is at 4.6% of GDP - almost double that of France.
And the list goes on and on.
If you want to talk taxes, remember, higher taxes and lower government spending result in less debt.
America has neither.
Oh, one more thing….
Taxes in America were much higher in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s then they are today.
In short, I think we’re all for making America great again - but that has never meant doing the things we’re doing today with taxes and spending. Can we stop pretending? Please.
one of our (my) biggest fears...
We’ve all seen the girl on American Idol who thinks she can sing but, very obviously, can’t. Even those of us who can’t sing, know she can’t, those who do sing, certainly know she can’t, and, in fact, the vast majority of humans would say she can not sing… yet she is utterly convinced that she can.
That is probably my biggest fear. I would say it’s many peoples. And not because it’s embarrassing - although it sure as hell is - but because it means that the way we see the world, is, pretty much without a doubt, wrong.
This is the fear of releasing any kind of art. (Like a book for example. :) We think this thing is good enough to release into the world. Will anyone else? Will everyone know something that we don’t know - we can’t actually paint, we can’t actually write, we can’t actually sing…
Again, this is way deeper and thicker than embarrassment. This is “I’m wrong”. We don’t like to be wrong. And so, even in politics, religion, perspectives, biases, etc… we surround ourselves with people who will be sure to tell us that we can sing. We’re repelled by people who tell us we can’t - because if we really can’t, then hell, can we trust anything we think?
So, it explains the vulnerability with art. And it explains the mental gymnastics on full display with the Christian Right, along with much more.
We can barely stand the thought that we are ever that wrong.
I don’t know the solution. But, if we have someone in our life that we can trust to be honest with us, even when it hurts, to disagree with us and present another side, even when it’s frustrating to do so, that’s pretty valuable stuff.
what's wrong?
Here’s a pretty good summary of some of the big problems with our political system these days. It’s worth watching if you’ve got 10 minutes. Really. Worth watching. Worth visiting the site as well.
keep looking.
The worst part of not searching, looking, seeking anymore is not the fact that we won’t find something new. The worst part is that if we’ve stopped searching, we must believe we’ve found all there is to find.
humanity is good.
Long story short. I sent a huge package in a 40 x 60 create to the wrong address to someone near Philadelphia. My cousin who happens to live in Philadelphia insisted on driving to the address (on her day off) picking up the package and redelivering it to another address in downtown Philadelphia. That could maybe be expected but she did it with such “no problems” and “that’s easy” that it kinda blew me away.
Long story short. My daughter had a dead battery that wouldn’t jump with her car parked on a Seattle street and after me trying to direct her over FaceTime on how to remove it, a man pulled up and said he had tools and offered to take it out for her. With smiles. With joy. My daughter said “I love this man.”
Long story short. It’s not my story but Josh Havekost is currently riding his motorcycle from Seattle to the southern tip of Argentina and somewhere in north Argentina (I think) got a flat tire on a deserted road. A man came up and took 4 hours of his day to take the tire into town and have it repaired while Josh stayed with his motorcycle. You can see the whole story on his instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jkhavekost/
Two things:
People are generally freaking amazing and nice and kind when you interact with them in the real world and not on Twitter.
I was reminded this weekend to be sure to be one of those people when someone needs me to. .
My 5 top books of 2019
Lots of amazing books this year that I enjoyed immensely, but I had to go with these five. Not all of them came out this year but I read them this year, so that counts for me. : )
(All of my favorite reads over the years are listed here.)
#5 Lost Connections
Johann Hari is one of my favorite writers and his book Chasing the Scream is in my top 10 of all time. He dives in deep and he tells stories that will make you weep. This time it’s all about depression, and how it’s often treated, and what some more efficient ways might look like, based on loads of evidence and investigation. Hint: drugs aren’t always the answer. Great read.
#4 The Madness of Crowds
I’m almost nervous to admit I like this book, which is exactly what this book is about in many senses. It’s not the book I would normally read (seeing myself as the progressive I do) but it’s a good reminder - with too many stories and statistics that sometimes overwhelm) that power is power and it will corrupt whomever has it and we better be aware. I don’t agree with everything in it and I’m surely not one to talk too much (as a white straight male) but it’s a book everyone on the Left should read.
#3 Born a Crime
I’ve always loved Trevor Noah and I loved him even more after reading about his growing up. It’s funny, it’s freaking out-of-this-world-unbelievable in parts, it’s heart-warming, and it is incredibly educational as well. It’s also an easy read. Get it. Now! You’ll love the man.
#2 Sapiens
I resisted this one for a long time, figuring it probably wasn’t as great as everyone was making it out to be. Wrong. I was so wrong. I’ve never read something as entertaining and vast as this book. It’s all of human history in a few hundred pages. It’s profound, educational, eye opening, and a book everyone should read. Don’t be like me. Start now if you haven’t.
#1 The Broken Ladder
This one was fairly easy because I’m a sucker for any book that talks about the poison of inequality and the power of equality, and this one does it well. America is messed up. If you don’t believe it, read this book. Socialism is not a dirty word. If you don’t believe it read this book. There are countries that are solving many of the problems we are not. If you don’t believe it read this book.
Just read this book.
Bonus! Insipid
Of course it’s on here. I wrote it! And I’d be honored for you to read it. Plus I think you’ll dig it.
if you want to talk taxes...
If you want to talk about taxes please read, study and memorize this chart. That’s all I ask. This includes all taxes, at all levels for 2018.
Note: The U.S. has some of the lowest taxes anywhere. No country has tax revenue of more than 50%.
Dive in deep here.
