“The storm of frenzy and faction must inevitably dash itself in vain against the unshaken rock of the Constitution.” -James Buchanan
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First Principles: The Storm of Frenzy and Faction Must Inevitably Dash Itself In Vain Against the Unshaken Rock of the Constitution
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Constitution, Dash, Faction, First Principles, Frenzy, James Buchanan, Rock, Storm
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Know Not Fear
Know Not Fear
by Michael Doyle
Youth always tries to dare
Their elders try to care
Each in their own place
Stares the other in the face
Each move made creates a snare
No matter how each tries to be fair
Climbing to the highest height
To outpace the darkness with our light
So it is from father to son
Each beginning is another done
Chapter by chapter, we write the book
As each generation finds its own look
The knife in each other's back
Whispers the pain of what we lack
Though it is that we need cheer
It's more likely that we'll know fear
Before we find our solitary way
That brings us through to the next day
We scream our way into the night
Wishing only to find the light
There is no time to fault or blame
As we call out each other's name
Swearing as we do before the burning flame
We will keep honor and know no shame
(c) March 12, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Back, Beginning, Blame, Book, Call, Care, Chapter, Cheer, Climb, Dare, Darkness, Done, Each Generation, Elders, Face, Fair, Father, Fault, Fear, Flame, Height, Honor, Knife, Know, Lack, Light, Look, Move, Name, Next Day, Night, No Time, Outpace, Pain, Place, Poetry and Poems, Scream, Shame, Snare, Solitary WAy, Son, Stare, Whisper, Wish, Youth
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Thought For the Day: Extremism In the Defense of Liberty Is No Vice. And Moderation In the Pursuit of Justice Is No Virtue
“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
– Karl Hess, as speechwriter for Barry Goldwater’s acceptance speech
This was later restated by Malcom X, in December, 1964, as:
“My reason for believing in extremism—intelligently directed extremism, extremism in defense of liberty, extremism in quest of justice—is because I firmly believe in my heart that the day the black man takes an uncompromising step and realizes he’s within his rights, when his own freedom is being jeopardized, to use any means necessary to bring about his own freedom or put a halt to that injustice, I don’t think he’ll be by himself. [Emphasis added.]”
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Barry Goldwater, Defense, Extremism, Liberty, Moderation, No Vice, Pursuit of Justice, Thought For the Day
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First Principles: Moderation In Temper Is Always A Virtue, But Moderation In Principle Is Always A Vice
“Moderation in temper is always a virtue, but moderation in principle is always a vice.” – Thomas Paine
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Always, First Principles, Moderation, Principle, Temper, Thomas Paine, Vice, Virtue
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Angel In Blue Jeans
Angel In Blue Jeans
by Michael Doyle
From across the fragile spaces
I feel your soulful traces
It was something like I've never felt
As your heavenly ways move me to melt
My heart was amazed by the hand dealt
When your love shined my way to melt
This stubborn heart of mine
That dared to dream you'd be my Valentine
With a simple hello from across the way
My soul was yours on that beautiful day
Somewhere between the divine and ordinary
Where everything about you was extraordinary
You were accessible in your sweet humility.
Dressed in jeans, yet your halo lent dignity
Grounded yet angelic, you were approachable
If only that is, I might believe myself capable
Of winning my way into your life forever
But it seems so seldom that I'm ever that clever
Yet, there you stood in all your majesty
And I told you, you scared me with complete honesty
Afraid that I could so quickly love an angel in blue jeans
Who seemed a figment of maybe a million silver screens
Defiantly hesitant of my every hope and expectation
I stood before you, waiting for your complete rejection
And instead, you chose to watch out for me in my humanity
As I was astounded to find that you loved me in my vanity
You have become my guardian angel hidden in plain sight
Nothing is quite so natural as you in my arms, held tight
An angel, fallen and wandered somehow into my life
A denim-clad dream who wants to redeem me as my wife
You bring me comfort in your claims upon my meager life
You bring me solace in this simple peace instead of strife
And all that I know how to say earnestly with my eyes
Is that I love you, my angel in your blue jeans disguise
My heart is filled every moment in our heavenly latitude
With the simple love of this mortal man who feels gratitude
(c) March 11, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Accessible, Across, Afraid, An Angel, Angel, Angelic, Approachable, Beautiful Day, Blue Jeans, Capable, Clever, Complete Honesty, Complete Rejection, Dignity, Disguise, Divine, Dream, Extraordinary, Fallen, Felt, Figment, Forever, Fragile Spaces, Gatitude, Grounded, Guardian Angel, Halo, Heart, Heavenly Ways, Hello, Hope and Expectation, Humanity, Jeans, Loved Me, Majesty, Melt, Natural, Ordinary, Peace, Plain Sight, Poetry and Poems, Scared Me, Silver Screen, Soulful Traces, Stife, Stubborn heart, Sweet Humility, Tight, Valentine, Vanity, Watch Out For me, You In My Arms, Your Love
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First Principles: Let Us Tenderly and Kindly Cherish Therefore, the Means of Knowledge. Let Us Dare To Read, Think, Speak, and Write
“Let us tenderly and kindly cherish therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write .” – John Adams, The Works of John Adams: Second President of the United States
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Cherish, Dare, First Principcles, John Adams, Means of Knowledge, Read, Speak, Tender, Think, Write
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Thought For the Day: The Laws of Nature Are Written By the Hand of God In the Language of Mathematics
“The laws of nature are written by the hand of God in the language of mathematics.” – Galileo Galilei
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Galileo Galilei, Hand of God, Language, Laws of Nature, Mathematics, Thought For the Day, Written
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Love and Heartbreak (From the Lens of Gen Z)
Love and Heartbreak (From the Lens of Gen Z)
by Michael Doyle
It's not worth a second glance
This pathos of modern romance
Gen Z is alright to join the dance
But a steady love has blown its chance
Roll the bones and place the bet
Nine times out of ten, it's regret
That comes rolling home to keep
Smart boys and girls don't want to weep
It's no longer held with great optimism
That there is truth in Plato's Symposium
It's not the love has been replaced by hate
It's only that soulmates tend to complicate
Who in this rush-a-day world will sacrifice
It seems an antiquated plot theme of artifice
Being dependent on another half causes scare
And really who has time enough to care?
Giving the best is a waste of risky business
History seems to show that there is no bliss
But that every step walked should be in independence
Isn't it dysfunctional to believe in codependence?
Generations lost in space have lost the ability
Refusing to surrender to the beauty of vulnerability
Hesitation undefined lends itself to situationship
Which on the surface is safer than relationship
It's no longer held with great optimism
That there is truth in Plato's Symposium
It's not the love has been replaced by hate
It's only that soul mates tend to complicate
Who in this rush-a-day world will sacrifice
It seems an antiquated plot theme of artifice
Being dependent on another half causes scare
And really who has time enough to care?
Trial and error leads hearts astray and alone
It is better to stay safe and on one's own
Shades of a brave new world floats into vision
As true coping mechanisms are treated with derision
Splintered marriages are known by their multiplication
A history to learn from and identity fates the satisfaction
The march of time has grown slower in its jaded hesitation
Can they come to believe without the rite of initiation?
(c) March 10, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Artifice, Bet, Bliss, Care, Chance, Codependence, Complicate, Dance, Dependent, Dysfunctional, Gen Z, Hate, History, Independence, Lense, Love, Love and Heartbreak, Modern Romance, Optimism, Pathos, Plato, Plot Theme, Poetry and Poems, Regret, Risky Business, Roll the Bones, Rolling Home, Rush-A-Day World, Sacrifice, Scare, Second Glance, Soulmates, Steady Love, Step, Symposium, Waste, Weep, Worth
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First Principles: The Deterioration of Every Government Begins With the Decay of the Principles On Which It Was Founded
“The deterioration of every government begins with the decay of the principles on which it was founded.” – Baron de Montesquieu
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Baron De Montesquieu, Decay, Deterioration, First Principles, Founded, Government, Principles
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Thought For the Day: Life Does Not Consist Mainly, Or Even Largely, of Facts Or Happenings. It Consists Mainly of the Storm of Thoughts That Is Forever Flowing Through One’s Head
“Life does not consist mainly, or even largely, of facts or happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thoughts that is forever flowing through one’s head.” – Mark Twain
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Consist, Facts, Flow, Happenings, Head, Large, Life, Main, Mark Twain, Storm of Thoughts, Thought For the Day
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