Liberty - Select Quotes
There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.
~ John Adams
It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue.
~ Samuel Adams
The Existential Pleasures of Engineering, by Samuel C. Florman
Hmmm…. is there such a thing as pleasure which is not existential?
There were two things about reading The Existential Pleasure of Engineering in which I took pleasure, existential or otherwise; (1) it was only 160 pages long, and (2) the author referenced great or interesting literature on nearly every page.
The cover of the book has a blurb that reads, “Enchanting.” The New Yorker. I have decided that this must be a warning that the book has some kind of hex / enchantment on it that makes book reviewers lose perspective. Read the story »
Your BC Isn’t My BC
The following is a story I like to tell from time to time to illustrate the problem of communicating when the sender and receiver are not working from the same worldview or when the same vocabulary is used but a different lexicon.
* * *
There was a rather old fashioned lady, always quite delicate in her use of language. She and her husband were planning a weeks vacation to Florida, so she wrote to a particular campground asking for a reservation.
She wanted to make sure the campground was fully equipped, but didn’t quite know how to ask about the toilet facilities. She just couldn’t bring herself to Read the story »
A Prophet Without Honor
Today’s Scripture reading from Mark 6 reminded me of a story I once heard. I share both below:
He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” (Mark 6:1-4)
Soon after he became president in 1912 Woodrow Wilson visited an aged aunt he hadn’t seen in some time. She asked him what he was doing now. Read the story »
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Liberty - Select QuotesThere is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public...
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A Prophet Without HonorToday’s Scripture reading from Mark 6 reminded me of a story I once heard. I share both below: He went away from there and...
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Aldous Huxley, C.S. Lewis & JFK
