Philosophy and Politics

There are many things in life that require that we set aside our personal preferences in the name of getting things done. Some of them are small like typing on a phone, while others are huge issues that require massive leaps of faith and courage.  Regardless of what it is, being willing to grow outside of the little boxes that define us is a critical part of developing as human beings.  ...

We live in a crazy time right now, most of which is being caused by groups of people maneuvering their way into positions of power through fear and manipulation.  This can only work as long as the average person remains uninformed and unable to group together to defend against the vipers.  Once we realize that we outnumber these groups many times over, it becomes easier to be brave and s...

What do you think about being on time?  Are you chronically late, or do you make an effort to be where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there?  Is there anyone in your life that causes you problems with their tardiness?   We occasionally lose track of time and might miss a thing or two; no one is perfect.  However, placing an importance on the time of other...

America doesn't necessarily have to experience a fall like so many of the great nations of the past.  It simply takes the average person standing up and refusing to accept the aggression of those who would take advantage of them.  There is always power in numbers, and the peace loving has far more numbers than the predators.  If we can just find a way to band together and push back...

In the end, ideologies are great concepts, but must be tempered by reality.  We will never have anything in the perfect way we always imagined and we must be willing to settle for what is good enough.  It may not be pleasant to hear, but necessity will always dictate our course of action.  If we ignore those dictates, then we have only ourselves to blame when the walls come tumbling...

What do you think about catering to personal opinions?  Should we bend over backwards for the desires of a few, or should there be a general consensus of viewpoints?  Can a society function if we have no common ground?  We fight about a lot of things, but at the core we are all Americans and we share a history and legacy that has shaped us into who we are today.  It is importan...

What do you think about living with habits?  Which are helpful and which make your life harder?  What compromises have you been forced to make to accommodate your particular habits?  There are few things worse than fighting with yourself, and if you can learn to go with your own flow, you might find that you get a lot more done at a higher level of quality.  Never be afraid to...

No one can really predict how this will all play out.  It might be that we all finally wake up and stop listening to and being afraid of these hyper-liberal crazy people who advocate ridiculous ideas that just don't work in a polite society.  Or we'll continue cowering in fear while we watch what was once a nation of good people descend into the darkness with nothing more than a whimper...

What do you think about irrational fears?  Do you struggle with one or more yourself?  Or do you look at people with silly fears and wonder what's wrong with them?  Sometimes we just struggle with things that don't make sense, but knowing that doesn't make them any easier to deal with. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://gunthrek.com/2021/06/24/living-with-irration...

The first step in avoiding the hazards of life is becoming aware of them, and the true point of this article isn't to tell you what to do but to make you aware that there is a potentially huge change looming on our horizon.  Just like we would for a hurricane or other foreseeable natural disaster, we must start making what preparations we can to weather the financial storm that may be in our...

What does a free nation look like?  It looks like America, and it is the model that the rest of the world envies and wishes they could emulate.  It is the shining example of what a great society can be.  We have proven that it is our desire to give each and every citizen the ability to make the best out of their own lives that makes us stronger, because when we are each free to reac...

Perhaps one day I'll find the strength inside me to extract myself from whatever this is that keeps me from being more than I am.  It may be that I can find a way to shed my anger and anxiety and angst about the circumstances of my life and finally learn to accept that it is what it is and there isn't much I can do about it.  The thought of that galls me, but the reality is that with bil...

For the rest of my life I will continue to watch and wait as human beings push ever farther into the final frontier.  As new technologies become available and we discover new aspects of physics we never knew were possible, I will follow along vicariously through those who are selected to brave new places and dangerous situations, living life about as far on the edge as is possible.  With...

What do you think about being efficient?  Do you come up with ways to avoid unnecessary tasks only to have the results turn out not the way you wanted?  What kinds of things do you hope to avoid, and is it sometimes better to do it the "old fashioned way"?  Sometimes it's just better to do it the more difficult way, because sometimes the results of doing things the "easy way" end up...

What do you think about public manipulation?  Are there any truly good leaders out there anymore, or is everyone just out for themselves?  What would it take to turn things around and get our society back to a place where we stand up for the values our nation was founded on?  These are hard questions, and if we knew the answers we would already be taking action.  Unfortunately,...

What do you think about working in situations that don't line up with the way you are?  Do you put effort into things that aren't really that important and struggle with it?  Or are you on the other side of the fence and believe in putting in as much effort as possible in everything you do.  Perhaps neither approach is wrong and it is simply a matter of personal preference. In the e...

I try to stay positive in my life and especially in this blog, but lately I've been struggling with these feelings I can't seem to deal with.  There needs to be a change of some kind, but I just don't know what.  Like many people who might be reading this, I'm struggling with figuring out what I can and want to do with my life.  Who knows where I will end up, but I hope it will be s...

What do you think about science?  Can we trust what we're told, or do we have reasons to doubt?  Has there been a time when you believed what the scientific community has told us only to find out it was a lie?  We base our modern lives on what comes out of this highly technical and confusing field, but sometimes the walls come crashing down.  What else don't we know? This episo...

What do you think about how we see the world?  Do you believe what is in front of you, or do you tend to see something more?  How hard is it to accept what other people tell you?  Sometimes we can struggle to get an understanding of the world around us when we have limited information, but it is important to keep a level head and use what little information we do have in a responsib...

What do you think about the future?  Are we heading toward a great and amazing existence, or are thing taking a turn for the worse?  How do we deal with sweeping changes that are in conflict with our values?  There are a lot of questions on the other side of the blank wall that is the future, and we can either sit back and wait to see what happens or start doing something about it....

Are you struggling with your situation?  Do you feel trapped in one form or another?  What can you do in a situation like this?  Many times just sharing how you feel can relieve some of the stress we feel when things just aren't going the way we hoped they would.  It isn't wrong to be unsatisfied with your life, and most of us are always looking for a way to move from where we...

What do you think about military culture?  Is it dated and bigoted, or is there some usefulness to the way the environment works?  Have you experienced it for yourself, or can you only stand on the outside looking in?  We tend to judge what we don't understand without having all the facts, and many times it is important to gain a bit of perspective before we jump in feet first tryin...

What do you think of handouts?  How about the current administration?  Do you like your money going to people who aren't doing anything to earn it?  How much time has to pass before the bad things in our past are no longer an excuse for failure?  At some point, we need an awakening in our society that says we will no longer put up with those who refuse to put in the effort, as...

What do you think about handling relationships?  Do you excel at helping people to meet your desires or needs, or is it a constant struggle to get the other person to do anything for you at all?  Are you constantly frustrated about the things you lack?  Sometimes all it takes is a step back and a bit of attitude adjustment to get what we want from someone important to us.  We j...

What do you think about love?  Have you experienced what true love is, or are your relationships based on infatuation?  Do you have the fortitude to enter into a real, loving relationship with someone?  Many of us have unrealistic expectations when it comes to what love is supposed to be, and the reality becomes quite shocking when it finally sets in.  Gaining a better understa...