. . .

“Sometimes silence.”

. . .

.  .  .

K          “That description about captures it.”

J          “Catchy too.”

.  .  .

K          “Obsequious to those in power.”

J          “Sycophantic to those above them.”

.  .  .

K          “Never took a stand.”

J          “Never joined a sit-in.”

.  .  .

K          “Their biography reads:  ‘Born – Consumed – Died.’”

J          “Or ‘Amassed credentials and lucre.  Never really did anything of substance or permanence.’”

.  .  . 

[See the e-commentary at Fight Or Flight In The Face Of Fear? A Principled Reaction To Stand (November 30, 2020) and “If I Get Diagnosed With Stage 4 Cancer . . . .” (December 13, 2021).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Born – Consumed – Died

Make waves

If you stay silent and fail to rock the boat in this war between good and evil, your life might be easier, but your children’s won’t.

Conformity is doing what everyone else is doing regardless of what is right; Morality is doing what is right regardless of what everyone else is doing.

It is remarkable how many people believe themselves intellectually superior for repeating what authority tells them.  It is also remarkable how school is structured to reward students for repeating what authority tells them.  I wonder if there is a connection?

. . .

J          “What does it mean to most folks?”

K          “Sales and bar-b-ques.  Some folks do reflect on its significance.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at July 4 (July 4, 2011) and September 17 – Constitution Day (September 19, 2011).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

What does Independence Day mean to you?

. . .

K          “Shoes, not shoe.  And they are all size 15E hobnail combat boots.”

J          “There are as many shoes set to drop as you might find standing around at an Imelda Marcos yard sale.  No one knows which shoe or when, but they know a shoe is going to fall.”

. . .

K          “Everyone was lined up like the figures in the sculpture ‘The Breadline’ by ‘Georg Segal’ displayed at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.  A year ago, they would have staged a fathom apart and dutifully atop the squares on the floor.  Lined up today about a meter apart, each inched closer together as more tax donkeys joined the queue to post their tribute on the last day.  So I did what I do and did field research.  Sullen lugubriousness became sudden loquaciousness.  Others were willing to talk and wanted to talk.  The uncertainty and anxiety are evident.  The fear and dread are palpable.  Then I went about doing the next chore.”

J          “What was terrible before Covid is far worse today.  Nastiness is contagious.  Inconsideration is infectious.  Venality and vileness are viral.  Lying is now a way of life.  Humanity has taken a dive that it will not recover from in our life.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at Fight Or Flight In The Face Of Fear? A Principled Reaction To Stand (November 30, 2020), Monitoring The Masses:  The Card And The Chip (January 12, 2015), The Populace Is “Dis-ed”: Discombobulated, Disequilibrated, Disquieted, Disconcerted, Dislocated, Disillusioned, Disappointed, Dismayed, Dissed And Dis-ed (February 8, 2021), The Vaccine: The Shot Felt Round The World (November 23, 2020), Covid-19 PanICdemic/Plague:  TSD/PTSD In The New Plague War.  A New Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)? (April 27, 2020) and The Residue of Unrelenting Fear: PTSD Afflicts The Populace (August 28, 2006).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

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