Academia, USA.

You’re getting the exact same quality of education for introductory classes at a community college, state school, and private school.

I know because I teach the same suite of classes at all 3 as an adjunct. Same book, same syllabus, same schedule, same assignments. The only difference is the price tag, and I’m hardly alone in that.

Actually, scratch that. You’re getting a better education at the community college because the people in charge there bother to remember that I exist and treat me as an equal.

Decades ago I was cook #2 at a retreat center. My boss, cook #1, was a quiet, but kind and competent kinda guy.

He’d show me how to do something, and then give me space to get the job done while he took care of other things.

After a while, we just sort of naturally settled into a rhythm of work. We’d both come in around 5am, get breakfast prepped, and then serve breakfast without needing to say much to each other at all. Then we’d do the dishes, again without needing to talk.

Sometime after that we’d eat, and the two of us would have a good conversation. Rinse and repeat for lunch prep, leaving once the PM crew came in to serve that meal.

The mix of being taught skills, trusted to get things done, and both of us appreciating when to be quiet and when to chat… that was everything. I’ve never had a better boss.

I’m absolutely convinced that there’s a certain threshold of money/power/privilege that just destroys a person’s humanity.

I don’t recall saying that “everyone on the planet” should or could adopt any kind of belief.

Pacifism isn’t aimed at victory.

I think it’s fair to say that, for a person to be consistent in their pacifism, they probably also need to adopt:

1. Anarchism (because government lives by its capacity for violence.)
2. Religious convictions of some kind.

Or some combination of the two, as was the case for the Diggers.

Pacifism.

The overwhelming majority of people, no matter where they sit in terms of culture, religion, and politics, see total nonviolence as a naive position.

But it’s among my most deeply held beliefs.

I left Reddit because the algorithm really wanted me to be angry and afraid.

The world is a shitty enough place. I don’t need the advertisers stressing me out even more.

The chatbots tell you what you want to hear.

Don’t forget that.

The weird journey this movie has taken makes me more interested in seeing it than I ever would have otherwise been.

I mean, I’m still probably not going to go out and see it, but if this is all some kind of strange viral marketing, then it’s working.

I’m practically tech illiterate, but managed to switch myself over to Linux after watching some guides a few years ago.

He’s the 1st one I used: https://youtu.be/4mySqL4bCSw

I have to wonder what the October end of life for Windows 10 will bring in that regard.

Computers are expensive. Some people will buy something new, others won’t be able. That crowd has 2 options of finding a new OS or using one that’s no longer supported.

We have to remember that the people making these decisions have no idea what life is like for a poor person. The kinds of payments that would ruin my life and yours are nothing to them.

So, they think we have the ability to afford these payments because they’re damned fools. They don’t expect mass defaults.

I think they’re wrong about that.

I’d ask if I can take a video of them doing the same thing and send it to their boss, school, etc.

Trump will die and a new religious movement declaring him to be divine will gain a significant foothold among people who call themselves Christians in the US.

Hi there. I teach World Religions (and other philosophy classes), so this is my area of expertise.

Some religious traditions are more open to being practiced along side other traditions, while some have beliefs that demand exclusivity.

In Hinduism, for example, there are millions of gods… all of which are a part of the Supreme God. This logic can, and has, been extended to the gods of other religions.

Likewise, some religions pair together quite nicely, like Buddhism and Shinto or Taoism and Confucianism.

There are also ways in which some religions might have some common ground. You can apply some Buddhist ideas within your Christianity, depending on what those Buddhist ideas are. On this, see Thomas Merton’s work on Zen, or DT Suzuki’s work on Christianity.

As to practicing multiple faiths being a sign of maturity… I think it’s more that friendliness to ideas outside your comfort zone is the mark of maturity here. This can include atheism too. Someone who genuinely wants to understand other perspectives is going to walk away with at least a few ideas they can affirm.

Parts of the American South are getting close, but are holding on as long as their power grids do.

That said, a good chunk of Texas won’t remain that way forever.

I actually do support the idea that we have a right to end our lives on our own terms.

But, I would say to anyone asking this question that there is so much good left undone in the world that they could make happen.

If you can, don’t end your life. Donate it.

A nice little cabin in the woods and by a lake.

Far enough from the nearest town that I don’t have neighbors, but close enough that I can reasonably make a grocery run each week.

Y’all would like Ivan Illich.

He puts on an acting master class throughout.

The scene where he weeps over his son’s grave is straight up heartbreaking.