Ignorance and Bliss

Ignorance is bliss is a common saying for good reason: We have to think about things to worry about them, and most of the time we are preoccupied with our day-to-day activities while we remain ignorant about major problems that may be just around the corner. A related saying, The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t, suggests that we can adjust to an uncomfortable familiar, whereas a new situation might cause worse problems.

One of the things about democracies is that people get to elect those in charge of governance with regularity. With every election, the . . . → Read More: Ignorance and Bliss

The Long and Winding Road

With apologies to Paul McCartney, the winding road I have in mind for this blog is not to your door but to the 2016 elections in the US. For one reason or another, we seem to be off to an earlier and stranger start than is usually the case. The impetus for this blog post was an article in Salon by Heather Cox Richardson about the intellectual battle for the soul of the Republican Party. The article caught my attention because I started my political life as an “Eisenhower Republican” while I was still too young to vote. I liked . . . → Read More: The Long and Winding Road

My Way or the Highway

What’s your view of those who take a “my way or the highway” stance? If you are in favor of having them hit the highway, please honk.

The impetus for this blog is the current “stand-off” in Wisconsin that pits Republicans against Democrats and corporations and the state against labor unions and those that belong to them. The Governor (a Republican) admits that the unions have agreed to 90 percent of his administration’s demands. But, he says, “no compromise.” It seems to me that we’ve been seeing more of that philosophy in recent years, and I am not at . . . → Read More: My Way or the Highway