HAT 33: Parks & Wreck     More often than not, in the relentless crusade for the thoroughly superficial, the wily bureaucrat, the hackneyed do-gooder, and the snake-in-the-grass developer will conspire to take something perfectly fine in its basic state… and choke the life out of it. I mean, why let the space be when you can jam a motley gallimaufry of kaleidoscopic plastic into it? Well, Here’s A Thing…

If you have something to offer that you allow to die for fear of criticism, then you have cheated your own moral prosperity.

Now that we have established that authenticity is the cornerstone of human interaction and that you are not alone in this world, today we will revisit the concept of standing by your values and standing up for them. Have you recently taken a stand for something in which you believed, only to be beaten down by the muck-dwelling mob of mediocrity and low expectations? It hurts, doesn’t it? Then the feeling of isolation kicks in because it seems like humanity has jointly decided to abandon what you’ve always thought was common sense, common decency, or just plain good manners. Too many have, but so many haven’t. The misery-loves-company crowd can’t live in a world where people aspire to something greater than “Whatever, man.” Never be afraid to stand for your principles. If you fear the reprisal of the weak, then strength dies. You are not alone.

Today we will revisit Isolation. Nothing dims the light of hope and erodes the human spirit more disastrously than isolation. And when isolation is weaponized, is utilized as an instrument of blunt force, the result is nothing short of societal disintegration. Look around. Do you feel a sense of unity? That’s not an accident. Disunity and chaos are the breadcrumbs of tyrants and despots. Reach out and let at least one person know that they are not alone; that they are not isolated.

As we survey the decaying landscape of culture and the lunatic rush to leap from the cliffs of humanity, I’m going to revisit a handful of the core principles addressed in very early episodes of this podcast. Consider it a break… a reality check from bizarre spasmodic regurgitation of asinine anti-reason.If you still allow any media to ooze its way into your consciousness, you are experiencing the dizzying discomfort of premeditated deception. You are being shoved into a black hole of isolation, depression, and hopelessness in which nothing is authentic and from which no light can escape.But… it’s an illusion. You are being tricked into feeling as though you are alone and therefore the desperate outcast. Why? Because you’re easy to control if you have no hope. You can be convinced to abandon your ethos… your code… your values if you sense total isolation. When you feel as though you have no allies, you are more prone to lay down your sword and surrender. Divide and conquer is a concept as old as humanity.But, you are not alone and you never shall be so long as you value what is real and honor your values.

HAT 31: Read, Write, Think, Connect: Refocus & Be Ok With It     Inertia. A propensity toward naught. To persist, unaffected, in extant loyalty to a rectilinear state. A property of matter which compels its existing state of uniform motion in a straight line. Unless… unless that state is changed by an external force. Lace up your boots and say howdy to the external force. It didn’t exactly sneak inside the wire, did it?

HAT 30: Independence Is Not A Date On The Calendar    It is altogether too easy for manipulative marketing and clever con artistry to turn a culture inside out. Observing the annual recognition of US independence devolving into a putrid hedonistic display of vulgarian bacchanalia is informative. From homemade hillbilly explosions to the mindless inertia of dragging phone-addicted children to an overcrowded seashore to retail blowout sales, little wonder remains as to why we are watching the sunset of human liberty at the hands of elitist Marxists.

Every now and then, and often at just the right time, the universe will remind you that in spite of whatever jackassery du jour is currently eroding what remains of your sanity that things will be okay. You simply have to be courageous enough to play the long game and surrender your trust to the precept that the universe demands balance. One can find balance in sunrise and sunset or even in the bipolar mood swings of a teenager. But, the most delightful place to find perfect balance is right in your pantry. Does that sound crazy? Well, HERE’S A THING…

Welcome and thank you for your time and support of reason. During this special edition of Here’s A Thing I, once again, give you the versification of Rudyard Kipling. Kipling was a man whose perceptions were forged in the crucible of perhaps the most seismic era of the human experience since the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages fell to the Renaissance. These chilling verses could be dropped seamlessly into the present cultural theater of absurdity as a reminder that the next calamity is no more than a sunrise away.

HAT 29: Are You Essential?     Words, indeed, have meaning. A few syllables can make us effervescent or disconsolate. A wistful remark can cause deep thought, reflection, and inward deliberation. With skillful selection and artful timing, words can make us laugh out loud. Words strategically distributed by those who control the flow of information are a minefield. Step with caution today on… HERE’S A THING.