Simple Gifts

Our first President of the United States was certainly ONE of the greatest, and arguably THE greatest we've ever had. Even today politicians turn to his Farewell Address for support and inspiration. It is certain that he saw clearly many of the pitfalls into which we fell, ignoring the advice given here. Let us listen again with fresh ears and open minds. Perhaps timeless wisdom can help us overcome the foolishness of our time.

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My friend Raymond wrote this essay on our response to adversity some time ago, and I thought listeners would find it valuable. Raymond invites you to his discussion group "One hundred eighty nine."

https://www.facebook.com/groups/onehundredeightynine

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We begin with "The Road Not Taken," perhaps Robert Frost's most iconic and well-known poem. All three poems this week are representative of what is most loved in his work, representing well the conversational poetic idiom that is so striking, and the natural and rural archetypes that strike the heart-strings so powerfully, and engage the intellect so deeply.

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a hauntingly beautiful and vaguely menacing, contemplative poem. I was first introduced to this poem as a child in the Charles Bronson movie "Telefon." I know ... Charles Bronson? Really? There is no accounting for our childhood influences, but I am grateful for that influence nonetheless! I love this poem!

In "A Late Walk," less known but utterly gorgeous and evocative, we have a beautiful love song filtered through a vague unspoken sadness. Nature herself is a quiet character in the background here, and lends an atmosphere of pensive thoughtfulness.

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George Orwell's 1984 is classic dystopian literature, but it is also psychologically astute and prescient concerning the totalitarian tendencies of the 20th century's ideologies. With the rise of 21st century Wokism currently in vogue, its message is a clarion call for the present, too. Let us beware of embracing rather than opposing the lies that are being forced upon us, lest we find ourselves, too, living in a world in which we must guard our very thoughts, lest they betray us. Hold fast to the truth, no matter the consequences!

Enjoy ... and be vigilant!

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When I teach Plato's REPUBLIC in the classroom, Book 8 is a perennial favorite. It is truly astounding the insight Plato had into human nature, both individually and corporately. He was a brilliant psychologist and sociologist, as well as the greatest philosopher in the Western tradition.

Having completed his description of the ideal city ruled by the philosophers, Socrates now again addresses an earlier statement from Book 5:

"Good, then, and right, is what I call such a city and regime and such a man, while the rest I call bad and mistaken, if this one is really right; and this applies to both governments of cities and the organization of soul in private men. There are four forms of badness."

There is a direct and causal relation, Plato asserts, between the character of the individual and the character of the society in which he resides, and the relation is reciprocal. Other than the correct form of government outlined in the 1) Kallipolis (an Aristocracy, rule by the best) in earlier books, there are four kinds of organizations of the individual soul and the society, in declining order of goodness from the Kallipolis: 2) Timocracy (rule by the honor loving), 3) Oligarchy (rule by the wealth-loving), 4) Democracy (rule by the freedom-loving), and 5) Tyranny (rule by the arbitrary whim of an individual).

There is, Plato tells us, a logic to this descent, a natural story by which the highest values slowly give way to lesser values, and as the values of the individual and the society decline so too does the government. It is this story that my students find so fascinating and compelling, as we can all see ourselves and our culture on Plato's continuum. His portrait of the democratic man and the democratic society, in particular, seems as though drawn from our own day rather than from 2500 years ago. The "inevitable" decline from democracy to tyranny that Plato paints should chill our hearts!

Enjoy the ancient wisdom that is as relevant today as when it was first written, and I pray to God that we may learn Plato's lessons!

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Our first President of the United States was certainly ONE of the greatest, and arguably THE greatest we've ever had. Even today politicians turn to his Farewell Address for support and inspiration. It is certain that he saw clearly many of the pitfalls into which we fell, ignoring the advice given here. Let us listen again with fresh ears and open minds. Perhaps timeless wisdom can help us overcome the foolishness of our time.

If you'd like to support us, donate through Paypal at [email protected]

https://www.youtube.com/c/TheChristianAtheist/featured

https://www.facebook.com/JnJWiseWords

https://wisewordsforyouroccasion.wordpress.com

#unitedstatesofamerica #revolution #independence #washington #georgewashingtonfarewell #foundingfather #americandocuments #foundingdocuments #unitedstatespresident #unitedstateshistory #americanhistory #unitedstates #foundingideals #spiritualaspirations #georgewashington #thomasjefferson #colonialamerica #colonies #liberty #greatestpresident

One of my favorite essays by CS Lewis. A highlight from the perspective of the Christian Atheist:

"I am not now saying that no one's reason and no one's experience produce different results. I am only trying to put the whole problem the right way round, to make it clear that the value given to the testimony of any feeling must depend on our whole philosophy, not our whole philosophy on a feeling. If those who deny the spiritual world prove their case on general grounds, then, indeed, it will follow that our apparently spiritual experiences must be an illusion; but equally, if we are right, it will follow that they are the prime reality and that our natural experiences are a second best. And let us note that whichever view we embrace, mere feeling will continue to assault our conviction. Just as the Christian has his moments when the clamour of this visible and audible world is so persistent and the whisper of the spiritual world so faint that faith and reason can hardly stick to their guns, so, as I well remember, the atheist too has his moments of shuddering misgiving, of an all but irresistible suspicion that old tales may after all be true, that something or someone from outside may at any moment break into his neat, explicable, mechanical universe. Believe in God and you will have to face hours when it seems obvious that this material world is the only reality: disbelieve in Him and you must face hours when this material world seems to shout at you that it is not all. No conviction, religious or irreligious, will, of itself, end once and for all this fifth-columnist in the soul."

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Three poems by one of America's greatest poets:

"In Time of Cloudburst," "Desert Places ", and "On the Heart's Beginning to Cloud the Mind."

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George Orwell's 1984 is classic dystopian literature, but it is also psychologically astute and prescient concerning the totalitarian tendencies of the 20th century's ideologies. With the rise of 21st century Wokism currently in vogue, its message is a clarion call for the present, too. Let us beware of embracing rather than opposing the lies that are being forced upon us, lest we find ourselves, too, living in a world in which we must guard our very thoughts, lest they betray us. Hold fast to the truth, no matter the consequences!

Enjoy ... and be vigilant!

If you'd like to support us, donate through Paypal at [email protected]

https://www.youtube.com/c/TheChristianAtheist/featured

https://www.facebook.com/JnJWiseWords

https://wisewordsforyouroccasion.wordpress.com

#georgeorwell #animalfarm #classic #classicdystopianliterature #dystopianliterature #dystopianfiction #dystopian #literature #fiction #psychologicalliterature #psychological #psychology #totalitarian #totalitarianfiction #totalitarianliterature #20thcentury #20thcenturyliterature #woke #wokism #orwell

When I teach Plato's REPUBLIC in the classroom, Book 8 is a perennial favorite. It is truly astounding the insight Plato had into human nature, both individually and corporately. He was a brilliant psychologist and sociologist, as well as the greatest philosopher in the Western tradition.

Having completed his description of the ideal city ruled by the philosophers, Socrates now again addresses an earlier statement from Book 5:

"Good, then, and right, is what I call such a city and regime and such a man, while the rest I call bad and mistaken, if this one is really right; and this applies to both governments of cities and the organization of soul in private men. There are four forms of badness."

There is a direct and causal relation, Plato asserts, between the character of the individual and the character of the society in which he resides, and the relation is reciprocal. Other than the correct form of government outlined in the 1) Kallipolis (an Aristocracy, rule by the best) in earlier books, there are four kinds of organizations of the individual soul and the society, in declining order of goodness from the Kallipolis: 2) Timocracy (rule by the honor loving), 3) Oligarchy (rule by the wealth-loving), 4) Democracy (rule by the freedom-loving), and 5) Tyranny (rule by the arbitrary whim of an individual).

There is, Plato tells us, a logic to this descent, a natural story by which the highest values slowly give way to lesser values, and as the values of the individual and the society decline so too does the government. It is this story that my students find so fascinating and compelling, as we can all see ourselves and our culture on Plato's continuum. His portrait of the democratic man and the democratic society, in particular, seems as though drawn from our own day rather than from 2500 years ago. The "inevitable" decline from democracy to tyranny that Plato paints should chill our hearts!

Enjoy the ancient wisdom that is as relevant today as when it was first written, and I pray to God that we may learn Plato's lessons!

If you'd like to support us, donate through Paypal at [email protected]

https://www.youtube.com/c/TheChristianAtheist/featured

https://www.facebook.com/JnJWiseWords

https://wisewordsforyouroccasion.wordpress.com

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