Preferred Indifference

The ancient Stoics divided earthly activities between those they could control and those they couldn’t, with all the shades in-between.  For those aspects of life that were in the tweener zone, Stoics recommended an attitude of “preferred indifference,” for the world could as easily squench these tweeners without any recourse by the individual.

The three conspicuous tweeners were: fame, wealth, and health, for one is not entirely in control of any of these, such that life can pivot on each mercilessly…the sudden public attack that defames you utterly, the stock market collapse that wipes out your assets, the hidden aneurysm that leaves you prostrate and just barely clinging to life.

So one should not hold tight to any of these tweeners, but rather have an attitude of preferred indifference — you prefer to be well endowed with all three, but can still be indifferent if they are taken from you, rather than be in a state of shock and despair, for there is an element in all three clearly beyond your control.

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Howard Schultz

Wondering what Howard Schultz’s positions are as a candidate for president.  He’s said a few things that sounded reasonable to me.  Not the typical politician’s non-statement that sounds good but means nothing.  He’s running as an independent.  I’ve heard him say the 22 trillion dollar national debt is the country’s biggest risk and that nothing is “free” from the government.  Apparently, he introduced a lot of benefits for Starbucks employees, including healthcare and higher education support.  I think he is worth watching.  These guys don’t get to be chairmen of large and successful corporations without smarts.  But would an independent, without national party support, have a snowball’s chance?

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Death of Facebook

Facebook has caved to government pressure over the Russian thing, and now apes the “Liberal” media that wants to shackle free speech as per the idea that hate speech — what they consider hate speech — must be suppressed.  Of course this is miles from real Liberalism that fully backs the 1st Amendment, and abhors any restrictions at all on freedom of speech.

The fake Liberals today don’t really get the sheer beauty of total free speech from the two very mutually exclusive advantages that free speech provides the public: 1) it provides a forum where compelling minority opinions that at first may not hold sway do gain wider endorsement from how compelling and rational their arguments turn out to be, and 2) free speech provides a forum where really despicable ideas are aired publicly and therefore exposed to the light of day, so that they can become the subject of analysis and ultimately be rejected — versus remaining concealed from public view, simmering, and dangerous.

Real old-time Liberals understood all of this.  Now, not even the ACLU does.  Ours could the era when our precious, 1st Amendment free-speech rights are undermined — not by the Right, but by the Left.  Who would have thunk it!!

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