Burke

Burke was wary of Utopians, those kings of reason who believe that they can organize and govern a society as though it were a science, who in seeking to attain the perfect society become indifferent to the suffering of the people and end up creating a perfect dystopia. One ought not to become estranged from struggling humanity.

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“It seems as if it were the prevalent opinion in Paris, that an unfeeling heart, and an undoubting confidence, are the sole qualifications for a perfect legislator. Far different are my ideas of high office. The true lawgiver ought to have a heart full of sensibility. He ought to love and respect his kind, and to fear himself.”

-- Edmund Burke

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[Source: Jesse Norman, “Edmund Burke: The First Conservative]

My Right Foot

Pop and I are at Jim's restaurant. I'm having my pancakes breakfast before we go to the commissary. Pop noticed that I am wearing my crocs instead of my regular shoes. I open up a little more about the problems with my right foot. He asks, "Are you diabetic?" I shake it off, leaving the question unanswered. I say it might be athlete's foot and I'm hoping it will just go away eventually - the pain, not the foot (I hope). He talks about seeing a doctor, but, again, I shake it off.

Dish

There goes my DVR copy of "I Spit on Your Grave". A new satellite receiver. I don't think I'm going to get another shot at the movie. I haven't seen it air again. Nor have I seen a real loosening in the censorship standards.

Friday Afternoon

That rain finally came. And fell hard, fierce. But I don’t think it lasted much more than an hour. Not exactly a drought buster.

Of course, the rain would come when the Dish guy comes, with the cats inside, scattering my babies into uncertain holes, traumatizing them. No lasting injuries, though. Just another growth experience, making them tougher for the world.

Since we have a new satellite-receiver and no recorded movies, I didn’t have anything to watch with my steak lunch. I pulled “Suburbia” out of the closet. The movie has been on my mind again, lately. That despairing cry of unfulfilled youth. Although I am no longer young, I still enjoy watching it. Nostalgia, maybe.

Was Shakespeare an Atheist? (4)

When considering whether Shakespeare left behind his belief in a loving God, "King Lear" is good for a lot of philosophical fodder.

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