A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again. Alexander Pope Both the diagram and the quotation above illustrate the human tendency to think we know more than we do. They do not discourage learning, but remind … Read more
Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; Malachi 4:2 Healing is usually mentioned in connection with illness, but it can also refer to fixing or mending something that is broken or damaged. As I pointed out in my last post, “Fractured Reality,” the United States … Read more
America is badly divided. Trust in our basic institutions — government, business, the schools, the media, even religion — has seriously eroded. The Founders of our country wanted the various colonies to be united (hence the name, United States). They adopted the motto “E Pluribus Unum” (Out of Many, One) for the new country. After … Read more
Delusion – A fixed false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual fact. (Dictionary.com) You know these people – at work, in your family, in your church congregation. They will firmly tell you that Joe Biden “stole” the 2020 election. They will tell you that climate change is a hoax. Some of … Read more
The internet has facilitated an explosion of information. Unfortunately, the information literacy skills of most information consumers have not kept pace. Amidst all the noise online, effectively determining what is true or false requires conscious, deliberate, and thoughtful effort. These days anyone who adopts a belief or makes a claim based on information they have … Read more
In the early days of the Internet there was a great deal of optimism. In a 2010 survey of technology leaders, 85% agreed that the “social benefits of internet use will far outweigh the negatives over the next decade.” Eleven years later, it has become clear just how naïve those opinions were. Anonymity The fatal … Read more
But it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin. Doctrine and Covenants 49:20 This scripture is very specific about the current imbalance of wealth in America and the world. First it says “it is not given.” This means that God did not set … Read more
Too many Americans still believe the story they were taught in school about our government: the “two-party system,” “free and fair elections,” and “consent of the governed.” If you still believe this fairy tale, you haven’t been paying attention to what has happened to the Republican party in recent decades. To use a common metaphor, … Read more