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Antiseptics were first introduce around 1865 by Joseph Lister a Scottish surgeon whose work was based upon Louis Pasteur's germ theory.

It was probably the most important medical breakthrough of the 19th century.

You and I need a different form of antiseptic today to combat the disease that is the 'Vampire State' and its efforts to manipulate and dominate us as well as to deprive us of the fruits of our labor.

The antiseptic we require is that of thinking, questioning and a stubborn refusal to...

Every living organism needs to keep moving in order to stay alive.

The movement needn't be dramatic, but all living organisms from amoeba to humans must be actively involved in carrying out those functions their existence depends upon.

To be still is to be dead or dying, for all life is movement.

All living things must necessarily eat other living things to survive.

Animals eat either plants or other animals and we eat them along with certain types of plants.

Failure to do so will be our demise.

When we eat beef we are indirectly consuming the nutrients the cow had obtained from the various grasses and grains it consumed.

When our dead body decays it will return to the earth where it will be consumed by plants which will be consumed by animals which, along with certain plants...

Matter has always existed and always will.

However, matter is always changing its form.

We rarely stop to ponder this truth.

We often view the occurrences of life very superficially if not childishly.

For example when we burn a log in our fireplace it appears as though the log no longer exists.

The truth is that technically there is no longer a log as we would define it but the matter of which the log consisted does still exist. It has simply been reconfigured into heat, light, sound, smoke and...

We humans are unique in so many different ways.

From other living things that is.

No other living thing, to the best of our knowledge, ever becomes bored.

They are unlikely to become depressed either.

An even sadder way in which we are unique is our capability of contemplating or committing suicide.

No other living thing is capable of such.

Whenever a decision of any import needs to be made, the most important question is: 'Who get's to decide?'

For example if an important decision regarding your life needs to be made (say regarding a vaccine), are you allowed the sovereignty of deciding or has some other authority (the State) usurped the right to decide for you?

Whenever another authority wishes to influence your decision, they must either persuade you or coerce you. There is no third option.

People often claim that they did something on a whim, but what does that mean?

Most of the time the person making such a claim doesn't actually know what the term means.

Essentially it means that a decision has been made without reference to any clear reason for doing so.

Truth is a concept which we take for granted.

What does it mean though?

I think the simplest and most accurate way to define it is that 'truth is that which aligns with reality'.

Reality is the yardstick by which claims are measured.

Everyone has a set of values or standards.

Most of us never give much thought to what they are exactly, or how we came to have them.

The most fundamental or highest value is man's life.

The reason is that if we are not alive, we cannot have any values whatsoever.

All of our other values are derived from this fundamental one.

Friendship, loyalty, love and all other values are derivatives of the value of a man's life.

The serenity prayer draws a very important distinction.

It is that between the things we can change and those we cannot.

The former are the things which are man made.

The later are things metaphysically given.

So, while we can most certainly change our political system and politicians, we can do nothing to change gravity.

Have you ever stopped to wonder why so many people are boring?

I have.

I think the reason is that they are incurious. They don't ask good questions often enough. Perhaps because they don't valued knowledge and understanding beyond a very limited range, perhaps involving their career.

It has been said that we can stand those who bore us, but not those we bore.

I've often said that I don't mind being accused of anything except being uninteresting.

Repetition is a powerful tool which can be used for good or for ill.

We are often led to believe something which is not true simply because we hear it repeated often and from many quarters.

On a personal level we develop either good or bad habits by repeating them over and over.

Repetition being a tool, is neutral. It becomes positive or negative only in the way it is employed.

The only real freedom you and I have is the freedom to choose what to think and do.

We have control over nothing else in life.

Consequently, the greatest evil ever done us is to prevent our choosing as we wish.

I am here not including choosing something which inhibits the choices of others or which causes them physical harm.

I think the two most important keys to personal happiness are the ability to solve loosely defined problems, which I addressed in the previous piece, and having something meaningful to do.

Humans are wired to be productive and creative.

Failure to act upon this natural impulse will diminish the satisfaction one derives from life, and thus their happiness.

Numerous studies have shown that highly intelligent people may be more successful professionally. but, if they are happier than their less intelligent fellows, it is only very slightly.

This is counterintuitive. What could possibly account for this?

One explanation involves the difference in a person's ability to solve 'clearly defined' problems as opposed to being adept at solving 'loosely defined ' problems.

Examples of clearly defined problems are math and chess problems.

Examples of loosely...

I was listening recently to a podcast with James Kimmel the author of 'The Science of Revenge'. It was quite interesting and I learned a good deal.

The desire for revenge is often thought of as an emotion. Actually, it is caused by the pain a person feels when they believe they have been aggrieved or harmed in some way.

It could be anything from a simple social slight to serious physical abuse. The desire for revenge is motivated by our felt need to remove this pain.

When revenge is taken we...

Gratitude is an interesting word.

It is the result of appending the prefix 'gr' into the noun attitude.

The 'gr' comes from the Latin 'Gratus' which means thankful.

Thus, gratitude is a thankful attitude.

The Chinese have a word, baizuo (白左) – to describe white Western liberals whose generous nature leaves them open to exploitation.

Nietzsche described their behavior thusly: ‘There is a point in the history of society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly’.

The Communists referred to such people as 'Useful Idiots'.

On any given day you can see these folks at some...

It has been claimed that you cannot derive an ought from an is, or morality from reality.

I don't agree with that assessment.

If we define the highest moral value as man's life, as I believe we should, then as a result, behaving morally involves doing what is necessary to preserve that life.

For example, gravity 'is' a reality. Therefore a person behaving morally 'ought' to wear a parachute when jumping from a plane.

One of the overlooked and therefore underappreciated benefits of writing is the cathartic effect it can have on a person.

If a person has suffered some significant loss or endured a very painful experience, writing about can be very therapeutic.

For example, let's say that a child or spouse of yours has died. You suffer as a result.

When you think of them, consider sitting down and writing a letter to them expressing your thoughts in that moment.