Nacirema The Island

https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/25/the-welfare-state-is-committing-suicide-by-artificial-intelligence/

A great post. I once worked for an environmental group once. I was the token conservative in the group. Knowing me, you should know I'm not as bad as some people think we are. I wore a green camo Browning hoodie to a party. I was feeling lonely, as everybody was drinking. The leader of the group comes up. His name was Josh (name has been changed). He went up to me and said, "I used to be a hunter. I killed a few deer. But then I became vegan." My mind immediately went to tofu, and while he had tried in a nice way to be my friend, it still felt rather passive-aggressive, and I felt like I wasn't feeling very much a part of the group, considering how many people are vegan in your average environmental group. This story at the Business Insider is a good explanation of this phenomenon, and what people can do to change it. Making me feel bad about hunting and eating meat--which is non policy makes me less likely to vote in favor of environmental issues or climate change--w

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6473365048088756225 The Economist recently released a video about competition in the Digital age..comparing Google's command of internet searches to Standard Oil's control of the oil industry 100 years ago at 86 percent. The more important part of the video is that it gives a good strategy for regulating these monopolies. You can't break up a technology platform Monopoly because it's in the cloud....it has to be the same accross all platforms anytime, anywhere. They suggest you prevent mergers of smaller companies that could provide a competitive advantage. That might work! It's the solution I have been looking for a long time.

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/pa5gxn/the-internet-doesnt-need-civility-it-needs-ethics

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6471018600491728897

An interesting study on the real political "divisions" in America. "Hardcore" Liberals are only 1/5th of the population and "Hardcore" conservatives including traditional and alt-right only comprise 25% of the population. Really interesting idea. Most of us fall in the middle. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a70a7c3010027736a22740f/t/5bbcea6b7817f7bf7342b718/1539107467397/hidden_tribes_report-2.pdf

People might ask why all the emails? Why all the liberal propaganda? I say as a lifelong moderate conservative it is important to understand and hear out the other side, regardless of where you end up on that issue. If one wants to keep track of the Second Progressive Era, one must pay attention to where people are generating most of the ideas that will become enshrined in law and in culture. Generally the change in American society has come from liberals, whether they be the abolitionists who were racist, the members of the Grange (a farmer's association), or the New York editors who finally decided to support the civil rights movement. A lot of modern "new" ideas have come in the past from them, such as gay marriage, transgender rights, healthcare for all, etc. It is worth it to watch small factions where the ideas come from. One also has to realize that cultural relativity is at play. Democrats meant conservatism for a good 100 years, and the Republicans were the liber

So with everybody mad, angry, happy, ridiculously overjoyed, or making plans to go canvassing again, the Era continues. I was pretty happy with what happened in Alaska, but in other parts of the country it went a little differently. The House was taken by Democrats, the Senate by Republicans, and well, Trump is still president. Utah has right now an interesting race between Mia Love and Ben McAdams--one a Republican daughter of Haitian parents, fiscal and social conservative. Ben McAdams, as far as I can tell is a an interesting mix of social and fiscal conservative, and a social/fiscal liberal. Both are members of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Both buck stereotypes of Republicans, Democrats, and Mormons that can only happen in a place like Utah that has a large conservative population with a religious organization that makes political hacks second guess themselves with its quirks. Conservatives that are more moderate with immigration, science, and caring for the poor and needy-

Donald Trump was elected because he seemed to represent and refrain the basic ideals of the American Church. This quotation from Stanley Haurwas, professor of theology and ethics at Duke University helps us make sense of this--and this belief in the American church, but not a personal God on the right and the left has hurt us--because control of the government means control of the 'church' and anyone who does wrong against those belief is an unrighteous opponent deserving of destruction. To quote: "I believe - as Mark Noll rightly suggests in his book,  America 's God  -  America  is a synthesis of evangelical Protestantism, republican political ideology and commonsense moral reasoning.  Americans  were able to synthesize these antithetical traditions by making their faith in God indistinguishable from their loyalty to a country that insured them that they had the right to choose which god they would or would not believe in. That is why Bonhoeffer accurately characteri

“You young people are leaving your university at the time in which our nation is engaged in an abrasive and increasingly strident process of electing a president. I wonder if you would permit me, one who has managed to survive a number of these events, to pass on to you a few words of counsel. “First I would like you to be reassured that the leaders of both major political parties in this land are men of integrity and unquestioned patriotism. Beware of those who feel obliged to prove their own patriotism by calling into question the loyalty of others. Be skeptical of those who attempt to demonstrate their love of country by demeaning its institutions. Know that men of both major political parties who bear the nation’s executive, legislative, and judicial branches are men of unquestioned loyalty and we should stand by and support them, and this refers not only to one party but to all. Strive to develop a maturity of mind and emotion and a depth of spirit which enables you to differ with

A good look on how we can "be great again" without being so divisive! Thanks Business Insider! https://www.businessinsider.com/undividing

This blog is for livestreaming the Second Progressive Era and overcoming the lack of bipartisanship in the country from the perspective of a moderate traditional conservative. I believe in both science and religion; I believe in looking for balance and moderation in opposition to excess.

I see the current conflict between science and scripture an extension or even one of the main battlegrounds of the secular left and the religious right. One says there is no evolution, and the other says there is no God. Here's a good answer that hits it right down the middle: "Let us not try to wrest the scriptures in an attempt to explain away what we cannot explain. The opening chapters of Genesis, and scriptures related thereto, were never intended as a textbook of geology, archeology, earth-science or man-science. Holy Scripture will endure, while the conceptions of men change with new discoveries. We do not show reverence for the scriptures when we misapply them through faulty interpretation." - James E. Talmage, “The Earth and Man,” Instructor, December 1965, 475.

It's really interesting today, the political landscape. Political alliances once thought sacred are being destroyed in the name of ideas and interests. Many people for good and for bad are canvassing---going door to door to measure support, spread the word, and recruit people to their cause (donations, volunteers, etc). Here is one example manual that might give some insight: This is more of a 'progressive' (i.e. liberal) manual. I would like to see what people use on both sides of the arena.

Thanks to Morgan Deane for sharing this: https://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-american-politics/ Left and Right we have people with this problem.

"No fight against the right will drive me to the left, and no fight against the left will drive me to the right," he wrote me, long after Chile had blessedly chosen democracy. "Once and for all, I have chosen the extreme center." -- Father Roger Vekemans

https://www.uexpress.com/georgie-anne-geyer/2018/10/9/greed-and-grievance-have-become-americas

http://www.reitzmemorial.org/Downloads/Beatty%20Speech%20to%20Montag%20Excerpt.pdf "Now let's take up the minorities in our civilization, shall we? Bigger the population, the more minorities. Don't step on the toes of the dog-lovers, the cat-lovers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, chiefs, Mormons, Baptists, Unitarians, second-generation Chinese, Swedes, Italians, Germans, Texans, Brooklynites, Irishmen, people from Oregon or Mexico. The people in this book, this play, this TV serial are not meant to represent any actual painters, cartographers, mechanics anywhere. The bigger your market, Montag, the less you handle controversy, remember that! All the minor minor minorities with their navels to be kept clean. Authors, full of evil thoughts, lock up your typewriters. They did. Magazines became a nice blend of vanilla tapioca. Books, so the damned snobbish critics said, were dishwater. No wonder books stopped selling, the critics said. But the public, knowing what it wanted, spi

I have learned in life because people have persecuted me for my differing beliefs that one must strive to understand others to the point that they understand them as well as they understand themselves and their perspectives, from where they come from.

Sometimes, despite all the noise, people from opposite ends of the political spectrum find ways to agree with each other. Here is a good example from the far left; look how much it states what Donald Trump's base wants but with different wording. It's very interesting to see their (being the Sierra Club's) take. Demand a NAFTA replacement that puts people and planet before corporate profits! Add your name 98,668 signatures 98% Complete 100,000 TELL CONGRESS: PROTECT WORKING FAMILIES AND OUR PLANET – NOT CORPORATE POLLUTERS! Our nation’s trade agreements should support good jobs and a safe environment – not corporations that offshore jobs and pollute our air, water, and climate. But right now, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a disaster for our communities. NAFTA eliminates jobs, erodes wages, increases pollution, and undermines critical environmental and health protections, harming lower-income families, people of color, and nearly everyone who is not a bi

There is a new political caucus and group that claims to be for fixing our problems. It's called the Problem Solvers Caucus. It's led by a group called No Labels. I think it warrants some investigation, especially as I track the rise of the Second Progressive Era, it's funny how many references they make to events 100 years ago. Ex.  On an earlier version of their ' Speaker Project ' page they referenced how Progressive Republicans broke the rules for the election of the Speaker in 1912, and had a progressive Speaker of the House elected. This paved the way for a lot of the future reforms. This is a primary source About Us page. https://www.nolabels.org/psc/ This is a negative second hand source. https://theoutline.com/post/4266/no-labels-is-the-most-useless-force-in-american-politics?zd=1&zi=2y2oplme I'm trying to find another source that kind of bridges the two. Any ideas?

"Third is public service. Even at your age, you can serve on school boards, charities, and in local, regional, and national governments. I would encourage men and women alike to engage this way. Where appropriate, involve yourself in politics with an eye on service and building individuals and communities. Avoid the political tribalism which has become so polarized, strident, and destructive across communities, countries, and continents. Join other politicians who are finding common cause to bring healing to troubled lives in their own jurisdiction and beyond. You can be a voice of balance and reason, advocating fairness in all corners of society. There is a growing need for you to contribute your energy to this kind of worthy civic engagement." https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/worldwide-devotionals/2018/01/a-hallmark-of-the-lords-true-and-living-church?lang=eng A Hallmark of the Lord’s True and Living Church Elder Patrick Kearon Of the Presidency of the Seventy An Even

Much like how anti trust laws, muckrakers, Congress, and the Supreme Court broke up the giants of the Industrial Revolution, such as Rockefeller's Standard Oil, it looks like there are new groups attempting to try the same thing to Facebook. My question is are they going to try to do this to Google ( Alphabet Inc )and Apple ? I suspect that they are going to be more like Disney or GE, which are two of the big corporations from that time that survived into the 21st century, because of their emphasis of the sale of finished products and entertainment, not raw information--kind of like how Standard Oil sold raw crude and finished products. https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/4/17816572/tim-wu-facebook-regulation-interview-curse-of-bigness-antitrust

A great piece on how to rebuild trust in America. It also gives a great perspective on how to consider other opinions--it is to read them and find the fair minded reds and blues on either side of the debate. https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/Our-political-spectrum-suffers-a-drought-of-purple_170358099

An interesting take from a leading evolutionist. Side note, I believe in evolution as a religious person, and I think this is one of the issues we all need to be a bit humbler about.  In my opinion people can go a little farther to bend over for the other side's point of view. Religious people can take more scientific evidence (and actual biology classes) to enlighten their understanding of Genesis, and scientists can work hard at seeing the good things that religious people do. It's a 23 tweet read by teh way... Some thoughts on how I became respectful of religion. — Mark Changizi (@MarkChangizi) March 20, 2018

“A man convinced against his will  Is of the same opinion still”  ―  Dale Carnegie ,  How to Win Friends and Influence People

“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity.”  ―  Dale Carnegie ,  How to Win Friends and Influence People “Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.”  ―  Dale Carnegie ,  How to Win Friends and Influence People “When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness.”  ―  Dale Carnegie ,  How to Stop Worrying and Start Living “Everybody in the world is seeking happiness—and there is one sure way to find it. That is by controlling your thoughts. Happiness doesn't depend on outward conditions. It depends on inner conditions.”  ―  Dale Carnegie ,  How to Win Friends and Influence People “Even God doesn't propose to judge a man till his last days, why should you and I?”  ―  Dale Ca

http://youjustneedspace.com/ When you have been on social media too long, and you have had every accusation thrown at you about this or that, download this app, or Chrome extension, and use it to take a breath. When we look at computer screens too much, and forget about the humans that live around us, that they just like us are people too; beings with emotion, passion, family, and friends; we get angry, because we are missing out on the emotional cues and physical consequences that happen when we are with actual people. We forget, how human we all are, no matter what we believe, and how much it differs from other people, that we all have divinity within us. Take some time, take a breath, get some Space from the hardwirers of hate and division.

One of the greater bloggers of the Mormon Bloggernacle, James Goldburg explains the kind of thinking we ought to have in order to facilitate honest, truthful, but kind discussions about the kinds of policies we enact or the things that happen to us. https://mormonmidrashim.blogspot.com/2012/08/critical-thinking-vs-thorough-thinking.html