Month: March 2018

Philosophical Thoughts2 Comments

Religion And Global Conflict

RJ Walters

It is becoming more and more recognized that religious beliefs are and have most likely always been one of the primary sources of conflict in this world. Here are some words about the underlying reasons for this: “Religion often becomes the master variable,” Harris says. “It provides a unique reward structure. If you believe that the thoughts you harbor in this life and the doctrines you adhere to spell the difference between an eternity spent in fire or one spent on the right hand of God, that raises the stakes beyond any other reward structure on earth.” Tribal tendencies are natural … Continue reading Religion And Global Conflict

Life On The Margins5 Comments

About Humanism…

RJ Walters

Over at my blog RedLetterLiving.net I spent five years exploring various forms of religion concentrating on Christianity in all its shapes.  I came away from that study convinced that the vast majority of Christian religions, of which there are thousands, spend very little time on the words of Jesus and it seems that many are now spending more time in the political realm than anything else. One glaring omission from that study was of Humanism.  As a then member of an Evangelical church, I was basically told that Humanists were the scourge of the earth.  They were all God-hating atheists who despised … Continue reading About Humanism…

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About Wisdom…

RJ Walters

Wisdom has been on my mind lately. But before I get started on this topic I need to distinguish between two types of perceived wisdom,  gut wisdom and learned wisdom. Gut Wisdom — Gut wisdom is that feeling you get when you think you instinctively know something. It’s what your gut tells you is the truth. I know the current Oval Office occupant says he is REALLY SMART but I think his self-conceived wisdom is just his biases toward the issue at hand. He may be gut wise but he is definitely not learned wise. I have to include my … Continue reading About Wisdom…

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Never Alone…

RJ Walters

I have let it be known before that I am a mall walker.  Every Friday I walk up to three miles at the local mall. It is good and safe exercise for this 70+-year-old deaf guy. :)  One of the things I do pretty regularly during these mall walks is to take unofficial surveys.  Sometimes I count the number of women wearing heels higher than 1 inch (around 2%). This time I chose to count the number of kids younger than thirty who are walking the mall clinging their cell phones. I’m not talking about them having them in their … Continue reading Never Alone…

XX - Everything ElseLeave a comment

One Day At A Time…

RJ Walters

The title of this post has multiple meanings. It was once a TV show about a single Indianapolis mother who was raising two teenage girls. It was a comedy but also showed some of the serious sides of parenthood. It is also a theme associated with  Alcoholic’s Anonymous. That is you work through each day at a time to stay sober.  But, I want to take the phrase and apply it to our retirement years, and maybe even the time outside those years. I am a dreamer.  That is a good thing, but it also can be a bad thing. I am … Continue reading One Day At A Time…

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What To Do about Extreme Poverty In The USA?

RJ Walters

When you think about extreme poverty I’m sure you mostly think of third world countries. It is hard to imagine that over 3 million people in the US  live on less than $2 per day. According to the World Bank, 769 million people lived on less than $1.90 a day in 2013; they are the world’s very poorest. Of these, 3.2 million live in the United States, and 3.3 million in other high-income countries (most in Italy, Japan and Spain)… Even for the whole population, life expectancy in the United States is lower than we would expect given its national … Continue reading What To Do about Extreme Poverty In The USA?