We will notice errors in others that we, ourselves, commit. That’s OK. It’s also OK to point out these errors. What makes this practice far less OK is when the knowledge of your own similar failings is nonexistent.

Can you believe the hypocrisy?

Um, yea.

No, but seriously, this is crazy.

Dude, I know you really hate the other side, but how can you not see that your side does this same type of thing on a host of matters? Sure, be upset, but your indignation level should drop just a tad. And here’s a simple way to achieve that drop: start or end your first sentence with an acknowledgment that this hypocrisy you so loathe is not unique to your enemies. Maybe the degree is different. Maybe this thing your enemy did really is the worst thing ever. Still, your side does it too. I’m not even asking you to care about self-sins, just to see them. Because once you see them, the whole situation becomes a lot less obvious and your the-world-has-gone-insane act will be much harder to execute. In other words, you will see the world more clearly. 

is not an actual argument against the talking point. Tell me why the point is wrong, not who happens to utter it. If you resort to the latter tactic, I’ll safely assume that you can’t win on substance, that indeed [insert bad person] has discovered an uncomfortable truth.

The Dems are out to get Trump w/ this Corona stuff, AND it may be true that Corona is serious.

Anti-vaxxers are stupid, AND it was probably unwise to ever say anything is 100% safe.

AND

AND

AND

AND

We will automatically form preferences.

Bestowed with preferences, it’s hard to avoid feelings of need and want.

When captured by these desires, preferences demand specific path adherence for any chance at peace.

This need not be since preferences can take a more innocent form à la My vote is for Pizza Hut, but I’m happy wherever we go.

In the “innocent form,” which is possible in all matters (though more challenging the more consequential), it can be both true that you would likely be happier if the preference is met AND true that you will also be happy if it is not.

when someone repeats a “fact” so often that the legitimacy of the “fact” becomes suspect. If it’s really that obvious and true, why must you keep declaring it? 

• 2.3% of hourly wage workers earn at or below the federal minimum wage, down from 13.4% in 1979. And since hourly wage workers are only 58.3% of the workforce, this means 1.31% of workers in America earn at or below the federal minimum wage.
• About 5% of workers work two jobs.

Thanks to a tightly edited training montage in the latest action thriller, wherein the good guys GET JACKED! in preparation for conflict, a spark of motivation consumes you. In this moment, when Hollywood magic is gloriously climaxing, hydrogenated-soybean-oil-coated popcorn fingers are blissfully ignored and reality checks remain distant, you will remember how good it feels to be in shape. The mental vows start compiling. No more eating processed foods. Runs 3x weekly. EOD in the gym. Swim 1x weekly. In bed by 22:00 nightly.

By the next morning, dreams of a finely-formed abdomen are overwhelmed by memories of calloused hands, achy legs, and broccoli sandwiches; you have been in shape before and remember the accompanying pain. Suddenly, the motivation that was once so tangible has drifted into the inaccessible ether. And if you are like damn near everyone else, once bereft of that Hollywood juice, the fear of discomfort will now easily triumph over the thrill of possessing a sculpted body.

For all the incessant talk about “echo chambers,” there are, tragically, few words spent grappling with the true cause of free individuals systematically eliminating opposing voices. The oft-cited culprits – social media giants, a polarized electorate, the 24/7 news cycle, etc. – allow us to believe that 2020 is profoundly unique. In some ways this is, indeed, correct, but it’s our base instincts that permit those culprits to register at all. People today, just as all previous iterations of the species, run from pain toward pleasure. This is as true with information as it is with fitness. And it’s true even as the sprint toward instant gratification is done while knowing that a deeper, more sustainable pleasure is to be found on the other side of anguish.

(more…)

Question: Is this person your hero because of his views?

If the answer is no, then your worship may continue uninterrupted.

It’s a problem if my doctors, experts, or leaders reason poorly; it’s irrelevant if my entertainment icon – who I adore for his ability to entertain – thinks suboptimally.

What if it’s always there for the taking?

You want it, you get it.

It only ever feels magical because we want it to feel magical.

It only ever feels out-of-reach because, in that moment, other priorities reign.

when you are rooting for people to die.

It’s easy to delude yourself into believing you aren’t doing this, but you are.

Wanting those hypocrite protesters to cause a surge?

Wanting those idiot rally attendees to be punished?

Wanting those reckless leaders to be wrong?

Yea, stop hoping that people die.

I had a little pride, as I have said, and that was good. More would have been fatal.

Each spell was a mountain to be climbed anew. All I could carry with me from last time was the knowledge that it could be done.

“Tell me,” he said, “who gives better offerings, a miserable man or a happy one?”

“A happy one, of course.”

“Wrong,” he said. “A happy man is too occupied with his life. He thinks he is beholden to no one. But make him shiver, kill his wife, cripple his child, then you will hear from him. He will starve his family for a month to buy you a pure-white yearling calf. If he can afford it, he will buy you a hundred.

“Can no one stop her?”

“Zeus could, or your father, if they wished to. But why would they? Monsters are a boon to gods. Imagine all the prayers.

(more…)