Over and over, people refer to societies that were colonized as indigenous. For example, I see nearly all Native American groups referred to as indigenous. Here’s a dictionary definition of indigenous, which covers the meaning here. indigenous adjective in·​dig·​e·​nous 1 a : produced, growing, living, or occurring natively or naturally in a particular region or environment b usually Indigenous : of, relating to, or descended from the earliest known inhabitants[…] Keep reading →

The more I learn from different traditions, the more I find each group claims that their intellectual and cultural forebears are the people everyone likes and says the others descend from the ones everyone dislikes. I grew up in liberal, progressive households and schools. I learned that people who worked for liberty and freedom, and who fought against slavery and tyranny were the ones our traditions descended from. I learned[…] Keep reading →

President Ronald Reagan said in 1986: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.” The quote has an appeal. Many Americans loved him. He was in his second term. I’ve been reading about slavery, abolitionism, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. One part seemed relevant: when the Union army liberated slaves from captivity. Were they not from the government, there[…] Keep reading →

I found a piece that expanded on something I wrote in Sustainability Simplified about how racism developed. Since I found that we needed to change culture to restore sustainability, I’ve been learning about abolitionism and related issues, since abolitionism is an example of humans changing global culture where no one thought it possible, then it happened, started by a small number of visionary people. In my book, I wrote: Oxford-educated[…] Keep reading →

We are living in the wake of the corruption of otherwise great people, in particular George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, as well as their peers. They risked their lives to promote liberty, freedom, equality, democracy, and national security. They claimed those values were universal but defended them for themselves and their peers only. Their corruption was not to extend them to their slaves. The legacy of their corruption[…] Keep reading →

I write about sidchas and standard procedures a fair amount. I don’t remember how often I clarify the main reasons for doing them. You might think the point of fitness-related ones to be fitness. I’m proud of fitness results, but they’re more a side effect. One of the big benefits is mental freedom. I think many people consider diet and exercise sources of stress, never knowing if they’re doing enough[…] Keep reading →

You’ve probably heard people say, “Even poor people today can do things beyond what kings and emperors of the past could dream,” talking about cell phones, airplanes, and so on. Yes, but technological power doesn’t necessarily lead to people valuing life more. Most people value freedom. Money and technology can enable us to do what we couldn’t otherwise, but what if it comes with a loss of freedom? If you[…] Keep reading →

The Heritage Foundation states: “Heritage’s mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.” Those words may sound nice, but talk is cheap. What happens when it comes time to act? From Kevin Roberts of the Heritage Foundation and his podcast cohost: After years of rigorous research, I am proud to[…] Keep reading →

The Jackie Robinson Museum offered free admission this weekend. I didn’t know about it and don’t remember how I learned of the offer, but it turns out it’s a 20-minute walk from my front door so I took them up on the offer. I recommend the museum to anyone. I presume most Americans know Jackie Robinson as the guy who “broke the color barrier” in baseball. Scroll to the bottom[…] Keep reading →