I’ve been baffled trying to understand the basis of Islamic terrorism and what I have been hearing about the Muslim Brotherhood. One example of my confusion was how the young men who flew airplanes into buildings on 9/11 after living in the U.S. in complete freedom and tolerance could have enough hate to do what they did. I recently read the book “The Closing of the Muslim Mind” by Robert R. Reilly (that is reviewed on this date) and it provides some answers. I remain conflicted that any God could want the murder of people innocent except that they haven’t read the book of the chosen God and lived their lives strictly by his teachings. However, Reilly’s book explains why there are Islamists who are not conflicted by that. Continue reading
Category Archives: Commentary
The Best Way to Help the Poor
Here is a news item that makes sense to me. “There’s a charity called GiveDirectly that just gives money to poor people in Kenya. There are no strings attached. People can spend the money on whatever they want, and they never have to pay it back. The idea behind this is straight out of Econ 101: Poor people know what they need, and if you give them money, they can buy it.” I’ve seen similar sentiments in other places. There is a saying: “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” GiveDirectly goes beyond that: “Give a man [or woman] the money and he’ll decide to fish, or maybe to sell bait, repair boats, start a restaurant, or make fish-scale jewelry.” Continue reading
Detroit May Be Blazing a Trail for Us All
Detroit has been in the news because of its looming bankruptcy. Certainly the flight of manufacturing from America’s Rust Belt, poor city management, and crime all contribute to its decline. But at the root of the city’s woes is a loss of population.
I wonder if Detroit is a window into the future. I have posted before about predictions that the total world population will top out and begin to decline within this century and maybe within a lifetime. One interesting article says “we are now exactly in the middle of perhaps the greatest demographic change in recorded history… It’s entirely possible that in little more than a generation world population will stop growing, and that our children will live to see a planet with many millions, maybe a billion, fewer people on it than there are now.” Continue reading
Extraordinary Accomplishments
Extraordinary accomplishments do happen. Too often, they go unreported or unremarked. If you ever feel gloomy with current events, take a moment to look at these:
The first animal ever to be resurrected from extinction was the Pyrenean ibex. Unfortunately, I use the past-tense because the cloned kids died shortly after birth. But, if anyone cares enough, with some practice on the cloning and an elegant technique to create a male fetus from the female cells scientists have, the ibex can come back. Continue reading
If It Works, Is It Okay?
Anyone who’s ever been on a diet knows the advice: don’t buy the junk food. You only need will-power for an hour while you shop, instead of every minute you are within reach of the kitchen. That’s using your own human nature to nudge yourself towards your goal.
How do you feel when the government sets up the “nudge”? Suppose it is Facebook, or your bank “helping” you? Continue reading
Scientism
I read a post that should encourage discussion on science, “scientism”, and their roles in political and ethical debates. Reality matters to me a lot, and science is the way we learn about the physical world. But sometimes people on all sides of a debate try to use “science” as a way to deny or shut down their opponents; as if to say “It’s not my opinion, it’s science, so you must agree with me or you’re an idiot.” That approach encourages a response of “Oh yeah? I’ve got my own facts, so who’s the idiot now?” Science and civility are both losers in such an exchange, and problems are not likely to be solved.
I wrote here about a lecture I attended on how to not-be-a-jerk. When we talk to others, we need to remember that religion and politics, or ethics and government, are at the core of what makes life worth living for each of us. Good people can disagree on important issues. We owe it to each other to be well informed when we discuss important issues, but we’d do better if we could admit when we are sharing facts and when we are expounding on our own opinions or values.