I don't know how widespread it was, but if I recall correctly, it was in the '80s "I'm a realist, not an idealist" seemed a popular phrase. In fact, optimism (which I see as related) gives you the motive for a venture, and a realistic game plan provides the means, though the two are often presented as opposites. Reality is indifferent …
I don't know how widespread it was, but if I recall correctly, it was in the '80s "I'm a realist, not an idealist" seemed a popular phrase. In fact, optimism (which I see as related) gives you the motive for a venture, and a realistic game plan provides the means, though the two are often presented as opposites. Reality is indifferent to us and will do us no favors, but we can (often) learn to dance with it sufficiently in order to get where we want to go; so long as we know reality will call the tune. We ultimately get nowhere or worse ignoring reality, and yet history is replete with exceptional accomplishments, so some approaches do work.
To me (cautious) optimism is a judgement that there is enough of a chance of a plan working to make the effort worthwhile (or if not a plan, conditions that present a sufficient chance of being conducive, such as the chances of rain on a parade). Perhaps that's what Churchill was getting at.
Cynicism seems like a rationalization for doing what one has always done, or nothing at all. Imagination combined with effort and empirical discipline, produces practical creativity; how Einstein came up with E=MC², and how the Constitution was crafted.
I love this. Hope requires creativity and a willingness to go out on a limb. I am wondering if the GOP has lost hope. They subsist on barricading and hoarding, afraid of change and creativity.
They have nothing to offer voters except fear, hatred and violence. It got them the White House in 2016, but that may be their last hurrah. ( with fists in the air)
I pray you are right. The fact that “fear, hatred and violence” worked for them spectacularly once was eye opening. However, then they gave nothing else (oh, yeah…3 SCOTUS conservatives) but nothing else to the majority of their constituents that is of substance or popular. Let’s hope the GOP obstructing positive legislation and fist pumping the overturning of Roe will keep the Dems in the majority this November. Yesterday was a very good day for the Dems… we need to safeguard voting. That should have been number ONE on the list. Damn Joe Manchin.
I only speculate, but it seems to me that demagogues seek to manipulate our evolutionarily older "reptile brain", that nature has given a "trump card" over reason and compassion to fight for our survival. That has created a kind of "security flaw" in our "mindware" that can be worked by predatory people. Nurses have described patients denying until pretty literally their last breath the existence of the COVID virus they were dying from, and that fixed idea was planted there primarily by politicians who saw it in their own selfish interests to do so.
The machine needs some elbow grease but that takes work…which they haven’t been wanting to do. It’s easier to lie and create chaos. Let’s hope the machine breaks!
I think it is complicated amongst the rank and file. I am aware that some people are more uncomfortable than others with ambiguity. I suspect a large portion of R. rank and file may have grown up in authoritarian households where questioning ostensible authority was punished.
I also think the profession of politics draws people with many motivations, not the least of which is money and power, and these are the natural allies of plutocrats. I think much of the actually crafting of the modern "GOP" mission is shaped in one way or another by large concentrations of wealth. The record of the so-called Reagan Revolution, which is Republicans continue to this day, is abysmal for most Americans, in ways too numerous to enumerate here. It has, on the other hand, visibly contributed to making the very, very rich a great deal richer and a great deal more influential in America in determining what happens to us all. It seems to be that, seen as a whole, that that was and is the underling mission all along, and the faithful are being had.
Thank you for responding. This is a thoughtful, message and I think you're absolutely right based partly on my own experience. Keeping what we've amassed, maintaining the status quo, I think is what you're saying. That fear of losing, a kind of insecurity, is what connects those who have a lot and those who have less. Having a lot can imprison you similarly to how having not much can imprison you. But not everyone in these circumstances is imprisoned—so the imprisonment is mental, psychological, a lack of faith, of trust, of one's own resilience, of one's own ability. Always having little but not the wherewithall to be content or change things, or always having a lot but not the wherewithall to see beyond your own borders. Seeing the bigger picture takes courage and selflessness, it takes heart, and love for this world, this planet, and every creature that lives. And it's necessary, because every creature is necessary. At some point, all the money in the world, and all the anger and hatred, will get you living barricaded behind walls with no one having your back. That's the big picture the GOP doesn't want to acknowledge even as it tries to herd us down that path. Live for today is a problematic slogan.
My daughter had a college roommate who lived in a war zone. The family slept fully dressed in case the needed to run. I suppose there are those who like to live on the edge of danger, but it seems like an experientially impoverished way to be forced to live; and that an environment that supports trust with abiding vigilance is far richer.
DR spoke of freedom from as well as freedom to. That surely requires watching out for one another. Democracy and rule of law is a tragic travesty without preponderant good faith. Two or more national parties at total war is a failed state.
Freedom requires a diverse array of responsible choices, and that can't scale without controversy and tension, with reasonable peaceable means of resolving or tolerating discord. Such as, who gets to drive across an intersection first? We need to agree on such things. A free society provides a foundational basis for trust.
“To believe all men honest is folly. To believe none is something worse.” - John Adams
I'll need to re-read this a few more times, JL, but by jove, I think you got it! Ignoring reality has worked for me a few times but I was not engaged in life-altering endeavors when I did so.
In these times, a minor comparison, but for me personal. As a creative person, I get an idea from looking at pieces of things. Then I put them together in a new way. Sometimes, those “pieces” have to be arranged and then re-arranged several times before the “right” placement is achieved. Reality might say to me (or anyone) these pieces do NOT fit together, throw them away and start over!” But by the simple act of rearranging “pieces”, a solution does almost always make itself known. I believe this to be true in cases both large and small. My eternal thanks for this engaging group of thinkers and actors.
Well that it, isn't it? Yes, there is joy, relief, and even the potential for insight in pure fantasy. Daydreams, nightdreams, and their ilk, fantasy in the arts, even fantasy in math (though those tend to come around to being useful). Why the hell not? Except when not appropriate. '
Lies are a kind of unreality, yet weaponized. Racisism, aggressive wars, and many kinds of injustice are enabled by lies. Lies gave the US, with perhaps the most advanced technical means of abating a pandemic, the worst comparative record for deaths. Naive or lazy misunderstandings also can kill. The higher the responsibility that is accepted by a professional, the greater the burden for integrity, or should be. Potential existential threats may rise when fantasy is presented as critical reality, and reality is labeled is "fantasy" as in Republican claims against Fauci, climate science, and truthful "fake news".
“Cynicism seems like a rationalization for doing what one has always done, or nothing at all. Imagination combined with effort and empirical discipline, produces practical creativity;…” Beautifully said! I too have hope!
I don't know how widespread it was, but if I recall correctly, it was in the '80s "I'm a realist, not an idealist" seemed a popular phrase. In fact, optimism (which I see as related) gives you the motive for a venture, and a realistic game plan provides the means, though the two are often presented as opposites. Reality is indifferent to us and will do us no favors, but we can (often) learn to dance with it sufficiently in order to get where we want to go; so long as we know reality will call the tune. We ultimately get nowhere or worse ignoring reality, and yet history is replete with exceptional accomplishments, so some approaches do work.
To me (cautious) optimism is a judgement that there is enough of a chance of a plan working to make the effort worthwhile (or if not a plan, conditions that present a sufficient chance of being conducive, such as the chances of rain on a parade). Perhaps that's what Churchill was getting at.
Cynicism seems like a rationalization for doing what one has always done, or nothing at all. Imagination combined with effort and empirical discipline, produces practical creativity; how Einstein came up with E=MC², and how the Constitution was crafted.
I love this. Hope requires creativity and a willingness to go out on a limb. I am wondering if the GOP has lost hope. They subsist on barricading and hoarding, afraid of change and creativity.
They have nothing to offer voters except fear, hatred and violence. It got them the White House in 2016, but that may be their last hurrah. ( with fists in the air)
I pray you are right. The fact that “fear, hatred and violence” worked for them spectacularly once was eye opening. However, then they gave nothing else (oh, yeah…3 SCOTUS conservatives) but nothing else to the majority of their constituents that is of substance or popular. Let’s hope the GOP obstructing positive legislation and fist pumping the overturning of Roe will keep the Dems in the majority this November. Yesterday was a very good day for the Dems… we need to safeguard voting. That should have been number ONE on the list. Damn Joe Manchin.
I only speculate, but it seems to me that demagogues seek to manipulate our evolutionarily older "reptile brain", that nature has given a "trump card" over reason and compassion to fight for our survival. That has created a kind of "security flaw" in our "mindware" that can be worked by predatory people. Nurses have described patients denying until pretty literally their last breath the existence of the COVID virus they were dying from, and that fixed idea was planted there primarily by politicians who saw it in their own selfish interests to do so.
Nope. They hope their lies will continue to run the machine of authoritarianism. Sounds like that machine is sputtering.
The machine needs some elbow grease but that takes work…which they haven’t been wanting to do. It’s easier to lie and create chaos. Let’s hope the machine breaks!
One day the machine got busted, the darned thing wouldn't go...
The limb they DID go out on appears to have a serious case of rot!!
I think it is complicated amongst the rank and file. I am aware that some people are more uncomfortable than others with ambiguity. I suspect a large portion of R. rank and file may have grown up in authoritarian households where questioning ostensible authority was punished.
I also think the profession of politics draws people with many motivations, not the least of which is money and power, and these are the natural allies of plutocrats. I think much of the actually crafting of the modern "GOP" mission is shaped in one way or another by large concentrations of wealth. The record of the so-called Reagan Revolution, which is Republicans continue to this day, is abysmal for most Americans, in ways too numerous to enumerate here. It has, on the other hand, visibly contributed to making the very, very rich a great deal richer and a great deal more influential in America in determining what happens to us all. It seems to be that, seen as a whole, that that was and is the underling mission all along, and the faithful are being had.
Thank you for responding. This is a thoughtful, message and I think you're absolutely right based partly on my own experience. Keeping what we've amassed, maintaining the status quo, I think is what you're saying. That fear of losing, a kind of insecurity, is what connects those who have a lot and those who have less. Having a lot can imprison you similarly to how having not much can imprison you. But not everyone in these circumstances is imprisoned—so the imprisonment is mental, psychological, a lack of faith, of trust, of one's own resilience, of one's own ability. Always having little but not the wherewithall to be content or change things, or always having a lot but not the wherewithall to see beyond your own borders. Seeing the bigger picture takes courage and selflessness, it takes heart, and love for this world, this planet, and every creature that lives. And it's necessary, because every creature is necessary. At some point, all the money in the world, and all the anger and hatred, will get you living barricaded behind walls with no one having your back. That's the big picture the GOP doesn't want to acknowledge even as it tries to herd us down that path. Live for today is a problematic slogan.
My daughter had a college roommate who lived in a war zone. The family slept fully dressed in case the needed to run. I suppose there are those who like to live on the edge of danger, but it seems like an experientially impoverished way to be forced to live; and that an environment that supports trust with abiding vigilance is far richer.
DR spoke of freedom from as well as freedom to. That surely requires watching out for one another. Democracy and rule of law is a tragic travesty without preponderant good faith. Two or more national parties at total war is a failed state.
Freedom requires a diverse array of responsible choices, and that can't scale without controversy and tension, with reasonable peaceable means of resolving or tolerating discord. Such as, who gets to drive across an intersection first? We need to agree on such things. A free society provides a foundational basis for trust.
“To believe all men honest is folly. To believe none is something worse.” - John Adams
Yes, they (Rs) are desperate.
Withering and shrinking
I'll need to re-read this a few more times, JL, but by jove, I think you got it! Ignoring reality has worked for me a few times but I was not engaged in life-altering endeavors when I did so.
In these times, a minor comparison, but for me personal. As a creative person, I get an idea from looking at pieces of things. Then I put them together in a new way. Sometimes, those “pieces” have to be arranged and then re-arranged several times before the “right” placement is achieved. Reality might say to me (or anyone) these pieces do NOT fit together, throw them away and start over!” But by the simple act of rearranging “pieces”, a solution does almost always make itself known. I believe this to be true in cases both large and small. My eternal thanks for this engaging group of thinkers and actors.
Love your creative way of looking at things, Patricia.
Einstein described his process as "combinatory play".
Well that it, isn't it? Yes, there is joy, relief, and even the potential for insight in pure fantasy. Daydreams, nightdreams, and their ilk, fantasy in the arts, even fantasy in math (though those tend to come around to being useful). Why the hell not? Except when not appropriate. '
Lies are a kind of unreality, yet weaponized. Racisism, aggressive wars, and many kinds of injustice are enabled by lies. Lies gave the US, with perhaps the most advanced technical means of abating a pandemic, the worst comparative record for deaths. Naive or lazy misunderstandings also can kill. The higher the responsibility that is accepted by a professional, the greater the burden for integrity, or should be. Potential existential threats may rise when fantasy is presented as critical reality, and reality is labeled is "fantasy" as in Republican claims against Fauci, climate science, and truthful "fake news".
“Cynicism seems like a rationalization for doing what one has always done, or nothing at all. Imagination combined with effort and empirical discipline, produces practical creativity;…” Beautifully said! I too have hope!