“Precision of communication is important, more important than ever, in our era of hair-trigger balances, when a false, or misunderstood, word may create as much disaster as a sudden thoughtless act.” – James Thurber
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Thought For the Day: Precision of Communication Is Important, More Important Than Ever, In our Era of Hair-Trigger Balances
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Balance, Communication, Create, Disaster, False, Hair-Trigger, Important, James Thurber, Misunderstood, Precision, Thought For the Day, Thoughtless Act, Word
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First Principles: Democracy Will Soon Degenerate Into An Anarchy, Such An Anarchy That Every Man Will Do What is Right In His Own Own Eyes
“[D]emocracy will soon degenerate into an anarchy, such an anarchy that every man will do what is right in his own eyes and no man’s life or property or reputation or liberty will be secure, and every one of these will soon mould itself into a system of subordination of all the moral virtues and intellectual abilities, all the powers of wealth, beauty, wit and science, to the wanton pleasures, the capricious will, and the execrable cruelty of one or a very few.” – John Adams, An Essay on Man’s Lust for Power, 1763
Our Founders established a republic not a democracy because they believed democracy would bring our nation to ruin.
Posted in First Principles
Tagged An Essay on Man's Lust For Power, Anarchy, Beauty, Capricious Will, Cruelty, Degenerate, Democracy, Every Man, First Principles, Intellectual Abilities, John Adams, Liberty, Life, Moral Virtues, One, Own Eyes, Powers, Property, Reputation, Science, Secure, Very Few, Wanton Pleasures, Wealth, Wit
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First Principles: The Battle, Sir, Is Not the Strong Alone; It Is To the Vigilant, the Active, the Brave
“The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” – Patrick Henry, speech in the Virginia Convention, 1775
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Tagged Active, Alone, Battle, Brave, First Principles, Patrick Henry, Strong, Vigilant, Virginia Convention
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Thought For the Day: As For Me and My Household, We Will Serve the Lord
“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”– Joshua 24:15
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Tagged Amorites, Choose, Forefathers, Gods, Joshua 24:15, Land, Me, River, Serve, The Lord, Thought For the Day, Undesirable, We
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Magical Realism
Magical Realism
by Michael Doyle
Art and thought are products
Of their own serial moments
Pop culture and serious art
Are both expressions of the heart
Tugged down into the complex maze
Of primeval struggles
Between those who naval gaze
And those who merely bungle
Magical realism shines its conceit
As the story engine churns seduction
Allowing representation not deceit
While conspiracy theorists reveal deduction
Wiping out the narrative of our ongoing show
That is the universe of accepted mystery
All these parts of the pain that seems to flow
While the rest is simply discarded history
Deep in the landscape of malls and cookie cutters
Where broken geographies beg for their fill-in
The ships of capital have all lost their rudders
The abstract need for more begins again and again
Feeling half at home in the multi-ethnicity
Abstracted in the concrete paths almost spiritual
While lingered on romantic aspirations of modernity
Our lives are half-shaped, yet, quietly habitual
Housewives pass time in electric salon conversation
While the genius of their ethics have gone flaky
You'll have to pardon my lack of fascination
For a fantasy of life that leads to its own devastation
(c) October 1, 2021 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Abstract, Accepted Mystery, Art and Thought, Aspirations, At Home, Bungle, Conceit, Concrete Paths, Conspiracy Theorists, Deceit, Deduction, Devastation, Discarded History, Electric Salon, Ethics, Fantasy of Life, Fascination, Flaky, Flow, Geography, Habitual, Half Shaped, Heart, Housewives, Lack, Landscape, Lives, Magical Realism, Maze, Modernity, Narrative, Naval Gaze, Pain, Poetry and Poems, Pop Culture, Primeval, Products, Representation, Romantic, Seduction, Serial Moments, Serious Art, Ships, Show, Spiritual, Story Engine, Tugged Down, Universe
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On the Futility of Revenge
On the Futility of Revenge
by Michael Doyle
Life it seems
Beyond its dreams
Is a transitory question
Best approached with hesitation
Careful of curtains hung
Equally as so with songs unsung
About the wrongs we wish to avenge
For such things bring their own revenge
Often these cut both ways
Bringing darkness to light of days
Often despite the points scored
Petty acts do not bring honor restored
Dueling has its dangers
For friends who've become strangers
The wrong intended for some poison all
Each feeling their backs against the wall
All good intents for life
Are lost when peace loses to strife
Would it have not been better to move on
Before all the good in life is gone
(c) October 1, 2021 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Avenge, Backs, Curtains, Danger, Darkness, Days, Dreams, Duel, Friends, Futility, Gone, Good Intent, Hesitation, Honor, Life, Light, Lost, Move On, Petty Acts, Poetry and Poems, Points Scored, Poison, Restore, Revenge, Songs, Stranger, Transitory Question, Wall, Wrong, Wrongs
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Thought For the Day: Of All Tyrannies, A Tyranny Sincerely Exercised For the Good of Its Victims May Be the Most Oppressive
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.” – C. S. Lewis
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Tagged C.S. Lewis, Exercise, Good, Moral Busybodies, Omnipotent, Oppressive, Robber Barons, Sincere, Thought For the Day, Tyranny, Victims
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First Principles: If Men Were Angels, No Government Would Be Necessary
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.” – James Madison, Federalist No. 51, 1788
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Tagged Administer, Angels, Control, Difficulty, Enable, External, First Principles, Frame, Governed, Government, Internal, James Madison, Men, Necessary, Oblige
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First Principles: The Natural Progress of Things Is For Liberty To Yield and Government To Gain Ground
“The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.” –Thomas Jefferson, letter to E. Carrington, 1788
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Tagged First Principles, Gain Ground, Government, Liberty, Natural, Progress, Thomas Jefferson, Yield
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Thought of the Day: Your Time Is Limited, So Don’t Waste It Living Someone Else’s Life
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” –Steve Jobs
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Tagged Become, Courage, Dogma, Everything Else, Heart, Important, Inner Voice, Intuition, Know, Life, Limited, Living, Noise, Opinions, Result, Secondary, Someone Else, Steve Jobs, Thinking, Thought For the Day, Waste, Your Time
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