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There are essentially three types of pleasure.

They can be divided into the earned and the unearned.

The first type of unearned pleasure is the kind derived from the use of narcotics. Unfortunately, it exchanges a short term and momentary pleasure for a long term and lasting harm.

The second form of unearned pleasure is that which one feels in the observance of something beautiful or entertaining. Experiencing a lovely sunset or sunrise are examples of this type of pleasure.

The earned pleasure,...

Sadly, a significant portion of the population, ignorant of economics (you can thank public schooling) consider life to be a zero sum affair.

That means that if I gain something someone else must lose the equivalent.

This is nonsense.

The only time that is the case is when someone robs or defrauds another.

In all other situations my gain simply indicates an enlarging of the sum, and causes no one else a loss.

In the west blacks are over represented in comparison to their percentage of the population in two very different ways.

Blacks are roughly 13% of the US population yet commit roughly 65% of all violent crimes.

In England blacks constitute approximately 4% of the population yet are represented in 50% of all TV ads.

What is one to make of this?

The welfare state has for all intents and purposes driven benevolence from the field.

Some yet remains but not nearly as much as there would be if the government would refrain from demanding that we care for others whether we wish to or not, and perhaps in a manner we do not approve of.

Voluntary aid to others costs double these days since you are taxed heavily to subsidize them, and then must dig deeper into your pocket to provide any aid voluntarily.

It is the same with schooling. If you wish...

It has been my experience that most people misunderstand the true meaning of sacrifice.

I'm not here referring to the sacrifices of religious rituals.

Instead, the meaning I'm concerned with is that of giving up something of value for something of a lesser value.

Thus, when a soldier falls on a grenade to save his fellows, he is not making a sacrifice.

This is because he values the lives of his friends more than his own.

This is noble and should not be mischaracterized as a sacrifice.

Respect, like pride is not a given, it must be earned.

When first we meet someone it is best to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are a good person and worthy of our respect.

From that point on however, their behavior will dictate whether or not they are allowed to retain our respect or whether is should be withdrawn.

Pride is often misconstrued to be a vice.

In fact, just the opposite is the case.

Pride is the satisfaction one derives from having accomplished something which they consider significant or worthwhile.

It is not to be confused with the bluster of a person boasting of something which he has in fact not done.

A subset right to the freedom of speech right is the right to be offensive.

The importance of this right often goes unappreciated.

To offend someone is to disturb or alarm their sensibilities.

In some instances this is good thing since people often need waking up.

If you have something you consider worth sharing, it would be a mistake to refrain from doing so for fear of offending someone.

In fact, the offended party may be the person most in need of hearing what you have to say

Previously I wrote about the vibe shift. One of the elements this cultural shift has given rise to is that of 'Populism'.

Populism essentially is the pitting of the people against the ruling elites.

This emerging populism is evident across western civilization.

I believe it is the result of the elite's overplaying their hand and failing to take full account of the frustration they have brought about in the population at large.

A sleeping giant has apparently been awakened.

The worst type of censorship by far is that of self-censorship.

That is the situation where people are too afraid of the consequences of speaking their mind, and simply remain silent in their fear.

When those who wish to dominate and enslave us have managed to cow us into self-censoring they are very near to the victory they desire.

People who refuse to embrace apocalyptic climate scenarios or fail to see climate change as an existential threat are often referred to disparagingly as 'climate denialists'.

This is knowingly misrepresentative of these people's viewpoint.

I'm sure that you, like I, have never met anyone who denied that the climate is changing or that it always has been.

The disagreements are regarding the causes of climate change, the impact of climate change, and what should be done about it.

The term vibe shift was coined in 2021 by Sean Monahan to refer to what can be described as a cultural tipping point. Though his version of the vibe shift referred principally to the domain of fashion and branding the term has been embraced by others to capture a wider mood that touches on politics and culture.

It seems to me that the most significant vibe shift occurring in contemporary culture is that of the rise of the anti-woke and populist movements.

I listened to a lecture the other day that convinced me that the greatest threat you and I are facing is the threat to deprive us of our cognitive liberty.

What is cognitive liberty you ask.

It is the freedom to have our own opinions and thoughts without interference from others.

What freedom could be more essential for you and I as individual human beings?

If that freedom were to be lost, there would be no freedom whatsoever.

The highest moral value is man's life.

Self-ownership is the foundational principle for securing that value.

It simply means that each and every person owns themselves and no one can be owned by another.

We can imprison someone, or enslave them but we can never own them.

The idea that slaves could be owned by others was always little more than evil nonsense and no laws could ever alter that essential truth.

When something is said to be the case no matter what anyone thinks or what their perspective is, it is often referred to as 'stance independent'.

My favorite example of this involves morality.

As a moral realist I believe that morality is based in reality, is objective and is discovered and not created.

Furthermore, I don't believe anything can be considered immoral which does not involve a violation of property rights. I have yet to have anyone provide a convincing argument to the contrary,

In my book 'Man's Search for Certainty' which can be seen at theotherdavidallen.com I spoke of the need people feel to believe in something.

They will believe in almost anything if it enables them to escape the discomfort uncertainty causes them.

I refer to this as the 'Will to believe'.

Some of us manage to deal with life's uncertainties without resorting to nonfactual explanations which defy reason.

The question then becomes: 'To what should we attribute this important difference?'

Man has only two options when it comes to making judgments.

He can either rely on reason or feelings. There is no third option.

Faith, if one considers it carefully, is nothing but feelings, and has nothing to do with reason.

Everything worthwhile man has accomplished was the result of reason.

In my previous post I brought up the role of resilience in people's life choices.

So, what is this thing we call resilience?

Simply put, it is the ability to deal successfully with adversity, trauma or stress. The ability to bounce back.

It is believe that rather than being an innate ability, resilience is a learned trait and can be developed.

The question then becomes: 'Why do some elect to develop it while others do not?'

The debate regarding nature and nurture has been a long one and continues to this day.

Consider one situation where it comes into play.

Two people grow up in very terrible environments.

Perhaps they were the victim of abuse.

One person, devastated by the experience chooses a life of crime or addiction.

Another person, who has been the victim of something similar, or perhaps even worse, determines to make their life into something worthwhile.

What is the difference?

Does an innate resilience or lack...

In order to navigate life successfully and be happy, a person needs self-esteem.

What exactly is self-esteem?

It has two components.

One must believe that they are worthy of living a happy and satisfying life, and they must believe that they have what it takes to do so.