The Morning Plow

Wikimedia Commons The passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the year 2020 is fitting for the tumultuous year.  Its like tsunami following a tidal wave.  Its like a wrecking ball to a building that's been beat with sledge hammers.  Its like a chasing a stick of dynamite with neutron bomb.  Maybe its not that big, but yes it is.  It reminds me of the great Willie Nelson song, "The Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning."  If 2020 was a relationship, that would be its song.  RBG's death has the potential of being a seminal moment in which our governmental norms, process, and structure could be significantly changed.   That kind of change is enough to cause anxiety and apprehension in all political partisans.  It's the kind of change that comes with hugely consequential outcomes, many of which are unknown and unintended.  If one is to believe the hyperbole and political posturing, our elected officials seem willi...

One of the more interesting aspects of humans is our affinity for quotes.  Even more interesting is the fact that we often misquote the original, this is especially true for movie lines , or we attribute a quote to a famous person who never actually ever said the quote.  I recently was quite disappointed to find out that my favorite Winston Churchill quotes were never said by him.  I think there are a couple of factors at play here, but that is for a later discussion.   I bring this all up because I have been thinking frequently about one of my favorite quotes:  "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."  It has erroneously been attributed to Edmund Burke, the famed 18th century conservative statesman and philosopher.  Although, he may have something to the same effect and in a round about fashion, he did not say this exactly as is.  The cursory meaning and simple explanation of the saying is quit...

depositphotos I joined Twitter a couple of months ago.  I did so unenthusiastically, and mainly to peddle this marginal blog.  Being new to the space, it took me a few weeks or so to understand the environment and how it all works.  I suppose my experience, and for others is well, is really shaped by the people you follow.  Unfortunately for me, I follow mostly media and political personalities.  As such, my Twitter feed is essentially a constant thread of ad hominem  attacks, put downs, hateful rhetoric, along with an arrogance and certainty of one's beliefs.   Besides bringing out the worst in us, it also, and obviously, divides us, promoting the kind of tribalism that does not allow the center to hold.  It pushes the liberals further left and conservatives further right, leaving no real room in the middle.   Instead, it promotes a "defeat the enemy at all cost" mentality, which leaves little room, or need for, objective self anal...