Feb 02

An Antidote to Sickness and Darkness?

by Chris Billows in Political Ponderings, Republic of Bloggers 2 comments tags: Components of Human Nature, Human Condition, Human History, Human Misery, Political Opinion, Virtuous Discourse
An open letter to Chris Bateman responding to his blog-letter The New Sickness Unto Death at Only A Game as part of the Republic of Bloggers. Feel welcome to provide your own input via the Comments. Dear Chris, Thank you for engaging me in this poignant discussion about the COVID-19 crisis the world is facing. In addition, thank you for engaging in a private email discussion concerning the dark tone of your post. That was a highly meaningful exchange. I don’t intend to change your mind about the harms committed in reaction to COVID-19, but I will challenge you on some of your specific terminology. I do so to better inform my understanding about your position and to ask you to clarify where I see contradictions in your position. I think we share a common horror that reaction to COVID-19 has done as much damage as the virus itself but would differ about what where our interventions should lie. Now on to parts of your letter: — > Every expectation has now been upended by this monomaniacal fear of an infection that is certainly serious enough to warrant action, yet nowhere near dangerous enough to warrant abandoning democracy. … Are […]

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Dec 23

Ideology: Scourge of the Modern World

by Chris Billows in Political Ponderings 0 comments tags: Foolishness, Human Condition, Human History
The Economist posted an article, Why Wars Happen, explaining that the cause of most conflicts in the world during 2008 is due to ideological differences. This reinforces my conviction and past blog posts, Ideology vs Philosophy and Confessions of a Recovering Ideologue. that ideology in all of its forms is the scourge of the modern world. The research about world conflict was conducted by the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research, and has some pretty amazing information there. Does my criticism of ideology mean I am anti-thinking? No, I would instead argue that ideological thinking is an oxymoron. Ideology is a mental disorder that afflicts politics, religion, culture (political correctness), and business. To be ideological means to not think and to abdicate one’s rational powers. To truly be a thinking person one must be philosophical and open to new information.

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Nov 05

2008 American Presidential Election

by Chris Billows in Political Ponderings 0 comments tags: Human History, Poltical Party Corruption
Well, history has been made. The first black man has been elected as President of the U.S.A. Very interesting to see how Barack Obama handles the pressure considering there is going to be huge expectations of him to fix everything. There is no doubt the man is an excellent orator and has charm, but that does not make for intelligent decision making ability. Its amazing how a single election of a single person changes everything. The world media and many people believe that with Barack’s election a new era has been ushered in. I remain skeptical just because I don’t see politicians being as useful as they used to be. I hope Barack proves me wrong. I came across this link while I was doing some searching on previous presidential and house elections. Dave Leip’s Atlast of U.S. Presidential Elections Enjoy!
Feb 09

Book Review: In Praise of Nepotism by Adam Bellow

by Chris Billows in Political Ponderings 0 comments tags: Change of Mind, Human Condition, Human History
Welcome to my first ever blog post! I hope to post on a range of topics that intrigue me.   Adam Bellow states correctly that nepotism has been with human history since the beginning of our species. He states that biological nepotism is the basis of social cooperation and became the main tool that has allowed our species to thrive and colonize the planet. The biological drive to care for one’s relatives has evolved complex patterns of social reciprocity that not only allowed for society to be created, but for civilization to flourish. As Westerners, we have been socialized into believing that nepotism is a bad thing. To most of us, nepotism is synonymous with corruption and familial self-interest. Bellow explains in 420+ pages that nepotism has redeeming qualities, has played a critical role in the development of every historical figure, and that we are fooling ourselves if we think it will go away. Starting from the nepostic practice amongst animals, moving on to ancient cultures, and then to the modern era of the political dynasties in American politics (the Kennedys and Bushes), Bellow explains through literary reference and analysis how nepotism has helped humans thrive. Bellow pulls off a […]
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