Poetry, Prose & Philosophy from Life
My culture tells me that we are beings who act from rational self interest. Ahem, my irrational self interest is, clearly, unworthy of discourse. If I am given conflict — to which I must be resolute — I must be logical and reasonable. My emotional disposition is irrelevant, irrational and, if showcased, counterproductive. I am … Continue reading An Economy of Violence
50+ die in a florida nightclub in a possible act of Islamic Terror. An explosion in an airport in China. And a car strikes 5 pedestrians in Las Vegas. The Texas Lt. Gov. quips and retracts ‘reap what you sow’ and Google suggests the news I would prefer is how the presidential candidates react. The … Continue reading Any Given Sunday…
[B]ecause […] the right of conquest being in fact no right at all, it could not serve as a foundation for any other right, the conqueror and the conquered ever remaining with respect to each other in a state of war, unless the conquered, restored to the full possession of their liberty, should freely choose … Continue reading Violence, Ideology and the Aims of Society
Dear Barack Obama, I watched your ten minute impassioned speech on youtube this evening in response to the recent tragic events — which has become all too common and all too cliche’d of an expression. You onerously uttered with the exasperation of a father who has lost hope, lost options and is beginning to … Continue reading A Violent Hope
1— Introduction If we wanted to successfully advance practices that serve the means of reducing violence, it would be prudent to first understand what violence is and, a fortiori, what causes it to be. And, any theory that must adequately explicate a concept must be inclusive of multiple modes of it’s existence, in addition to multiple … Continue reading A Theory of Violence
The recent media attention has centered around incidents of perceived law enforcement abuse that have become a catalyst for riots stretching across three continents. Incidents, such as these, have been a constant reality and potentiality in poor urban areas for a long time and the recent attention is the product of switching the collective focus … Continue reading A Police Badge is a Hollow Void of Nothingness
The Chappelle Show in 2002 ran a sketch that opens with a couple in a bedroom and the implication that they are about to engage sexually, but the male character stops and pulls out a contract and he explains that she needs to sign to prove explicit (and legally binding) consent prior to them having … Continue reading Yes means Yes (we will criminalize the symptom of sexual assault, while disregarding the disease)
Right now as I type this essay, I wonder if God is up there smiling or not? What is the emotional disposition of the creator— Gods eye? Does he stand over his domain with pride — was all this his plan? The go-to theistic response to tragic events, like the holocaust, is usually something like: … Continue reading God Doesn’t Love Us
For years I have been plagued with the ubiquitous first-world problem of the dreaded alarm clock. It does not matter what time you have to wake up, it’s a given that one's partner will need to wake up at a different time and because of this: we must set the alarm twice. This creates a … Continue reading On the Alarm Clock
A lifetime ago or so I was a film student and a freshman in college, excited to earn my chops behind a camera and become a modern day story teller. Although, I later rerouted my GPS and changed my studies to my first true love: philosophy, I did end up learning some interesting things about … Continue reading Can Happy Movies Lead to Violence?
