Read this information from Stand For Health Freedom (below) before you form an opinion set in stone. And remember, as Emerson said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Here is my brief letter, sent just now to my local Member of Parliament: Coercing anyone into taking any
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Writings of J. Todd Ring: Know Your Rights, And Exercise Them, Now – Or We Will Lose Them All
Here are some important documents you might want to read, reflect on, save to USB, and share. The Magna Carta – the foundation of Western law and all constitutional rights, signed 800 years ago, and being burned now https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/magna-carta-english-translation# The US Constitution and Bill of Rights – shredded by the
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Peak Oil, Climate Change, and Human Fallibility
I’m just going to share verbatim a letter that I just sent to a few friends. I think it is worth giving it some thought. The letter expresses my comments on an excellent set of films by James Corbett. (Link is below. Part one is better, and extremely important.) Hi
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Greatest of Philosophers
Who are the greatest of philosophers? Ask 20 scholars, and they will give you 20 different answers. The list I would offer would not be appreciated by most academic philosophers, especially in the West; but I do not place a high value on the opinions of most academics. While there
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Leader vs Influencers: A Case Study Of Elon Musk
Top influencers does not equate to real leaders. Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and Mao were top influencers, and they were all deranged. As for content of contribution, Musk’s boaring project misses the point, as do electric cars: we need decentralization and the slashing of shipping distances as an ecologically urgent top
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: On Puritan-Capitalism: Money As The Measure Of All Things
The mechanistic materialist world view, which the West, beginning with Europe, adopted a mere 400 years ago, and then exported through economic, financial, military and cultural colonialism and neocolonialism to the rest of the world, has been nothing short of a cultural, sociological, political, economic, ecological, spiritual, public health and
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: If You Are Going To Vote, Read This
Things are changing rapidly in the world, but as of this moment, we can say a few things about the major political parties of the Western world, with reasonable certainty. It is now undeniable, that by their actions, the major parties of the Western world, including the Democratic party of
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Stressed? Read This. Amygdala Highjacking – A Few Brief Thoughts
When under great stress, or when in great fear, our biological fight or flight response is triggered strongly, the amygdala is highjacked, which then highjacks our frontal cortex and our brain, and destroys both our peace, and also our capacity for rational thought. Knowing how to respond to, or better,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Kafkaesque?
It might be called Kafkaesque, that this talk focuses on bureaucracy and its tyrranical absurdities, while Kafka’s most important contribution was, not simply to highlight the tyrrany of bureaucracy, but the horrors of authoritarianism. So much for relying on intelligent talks coming from Ted. But then again, fascism has swept
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: On Fads and Pop Culture Gurus
Interesting discussion here (linked below), on the power of ritual, the positive functions of mythology, and the value of mentors. One negative point: the cold immersion fad is rooted in ignorance. If you preheat your body with saunas, sweat lodges or vigorous exercise, a short cold dunk is very health-promoting,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Fundamentals Of History
(The following thoughts were written in response to a podcast, linked below.) I liked this podcaster’s treatment of the Druids, which was very good. However… This talk (linked below) asks fundamentally important questions – what is the origin of religion, agriculture, cities and states? But the coverage is average, typical:
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Free Your Mind: Escaping The Mental Prison Of Cognitive Bias
As Emerson said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” People who cannot admit that they were wrong, turn their minds to stone, turn their brains off, and turn themselves into functional idiots. The intelligent response to a conflict or discrepancy between new evidence and our pre-existing beliefs,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Last Empire
It is the illusion of powerlessness among the people which upholds every empire – for a time. But the illusion eventually wears off. No empire lasts forever. Every empire falls in the end. This last, and hopefully final empire, which I would call the global neofeudal corporate oligarchy, or corporate
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Sociology Of Delusion
Automation is going to eliminate most jobs. That could spell tyranny and neofeudalism, and the birth of a highly stratified society, where the priviledged few live in material comfort, the power elite live as global feudal lords and god-kings, and the vast majority are deemed useless and discarded, or rounded
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Five Monkeys, and The Art of War:Or, How To Launch A Successful Revolution
Gandhi said, “Cowards can never be moral.” And he was right. Cowards always choose personal comfort over conscience. The question then, is, how to instill courage in the people, at this most critical hour in the history of humanity? Answer that, and social change becomes, not only possible, but inevitable,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: A better world, and a better life
How do we build a better world? How do we build a better nation, a better community, a better life? The answer is the same in all cases. Alertness, always – pay attention, be mindful, and value truth over illusion. Calmness, always – even in the midst of great turmoil
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Retrieved from the memory hole: Our collective imagination
Here is a note from the memory hole, to jolt us back to a sense of reality: which means, a sense that all things truly are possible – with the will, the heart, and the passion, and the dedication, to create a better world for all. Memory artifact one: Henry
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: On Justice Warriors, and The Death of Freedom
When I hear people talk disdainfully or scoffingly at what they refer to as “justice warriors”, I have to cringe – not because they are right, although to some degree they are; but because they do not understand what they are saying, or what talking about. Let me clarify. First
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Power Elite: What Every Thinking Person Needs To Know
C. Wright Mills’, The Power Elite, is unquestionably one of the most important books ever written in sociology, social theory, social philosophy, social psychology or political-economy – and it of course intersects deeply with all of these areas – ranking along with other must-read books such as Erich Fromm’s, Escape
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Global Co-op Movement: The Better Way – and, The Way Ahead
I used to think that co-ops were a nice idea, very practical, a nice little niche for a few people around the margins and the periphery, with strong ideals, doing practical, valuable things. But I, must admit, in this regard, I was quite ignorant, until just this year. The co-op
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