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Dispelling Myths vs Reimaging

RJ Walters

Yesterday’s post was all about spin and how we too often try to reimage something because makes us uncomfortable.  It was primarily about the fact that we need to dispell the myth instead of just re-naming the condition.  Today I want to talk about why this topic is so important to me. As I have often said, being deaf is a major part of my life but it is not what I am about.  I almost never say I am a deaf man but instead say I am a man who is deaf. There is a critical difference between the two. If … Continue reading Dispelling Myths vs Reimaging

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…

Having My SayLeave a comment

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…

Having My SayLeave a comment

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…

Life On The MarginsLeave a comment

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?

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Still Committed To Each Other… But…

RJ Walters

I want to start out this post with something I said here at RJsCorner about seven years ago: I must admit that I am probably more adventurous than many seniors.  I enjoy constant stimulation. I enjoy planning and doing things that I have never done before. To sit around the house day after day is very boring to me. My senior years certainly give me an opportunity to do some adventurous things. Unfortunately, like many other seniors I imagine, I am married to a spouse who doesn’t share my sense of adventure. She is much more inclined to spend her … Continue reading Still Committed To Each Other… But…

XX - Everything ElseLeave a comment

Collections/Obsessions

RJ Walters

The TV show American Pickers is basically about obsessions.  Most of the episodes are about a couple of Le Claire Iowa men going to “pick” people’s collections.  Many have thousands of square feet of barns, outbuildings, and old houses stuffed with things they have purchased throughout their lives. They dig things out from massive piles and ask if it is for sale? More often than not the answer is “no, I don’t want to sell that”. The item is likely something that they threw into a barn 30 years ago and hasn’t seen the light of day since then! So, why does it … Continue reading Collections/Obsessions

Having My SayLeave a comment

Nantucket…

RJ Walters

  I made an “executive” decision a while back to use Flickr as the residence of my future InsearchOfAmerica photo arrays. Just added a new photo album there. If you ever wondered what the island of Nantucket looks like click here. We were there in 1999. We knew that would be our last year living on the east coast so Yvonne insisted we go to Nantucket so she could buy a lightship basket to add to her collection. The island is not as famous as Martha’s Vineyard but still had its share of multimillionaire’s summer cottages and thousands of small shops. The … Continue reading Nantucket…

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And Then There Is The Son…

RJ Walters

Simply stated, I don’t believe in aristocracy. I don’t believe that knowledge or wisdom is necessarily inherited. So, when one generation wants to pass massive wealth or power to the next generation I bristle. The example below is one of the tragic consequences of this practice. While evangelical leader Franklin Graham has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, his father Rev. Billy Graham publicly warned against the prospect of religious figures becoming too attached to a political stance. via FACT CHECK: Did Billy Graham Warn Against Mixing Religion and Politics? I mourn the passing of Billy Graham this … Continue reading And Then There Is The Son…

Philosophical ThoughtsLeave a comment

Christian Nationalism

RJ Walters

Sadly, one of the things I believe the church has become very good at is to take some particular words from the bible and twist them around to more conform to their way of thinking. That is what today’s post is going to be about. Sometimes small alterations make a great deal of difference. For instance, we have about 90 percent of the same genes as cats and more than 98 percent of the same genes as chimpanzees. But those little differences matter a lot. This is also true when it comes to faith. I have been doing some reading in A Church … Continue reading Christian Nationalism