http://www.celestialfamily.org Making our way back home Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:59:47 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://freephilosophicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2011/01/whole-bunch-of-blind-people.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-whole-bunch-of-blind-people http://freephilosophicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2011/01/whole-bunch-of-blind-people.html#comments Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:23:00 +0000 Michael “Hey, Dad. The way I see it if somebody pucks your eyeball out and you go pluck out theirs pretty soon you’re just gonna have a whole bunch of blind people.”
I assured him that he was exactly correct and then pulled up a quote that sounded very similar to Noah’s epiphany.
“An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” Mohandas K. Gandhi
Noah though it was cool that somebody else had the same idea. What I thought was so cool is that this basic philosophy seems like complete common sense to a ten year old. Yet it was also rather sad that this logic completely escapes most politicians.
As I read this over I think I prefer Noah’s phrasing to Gandhi’s. Something about the childish use of the word eyeball and pluck reminds me that it came from a ten year old and makes it seem whimsical yet no less profound.

]]> http://freephilosophicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/feeds/8890745105165560007/comments/default 0 http://freephilosophicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2009/10/another-kewl-quote.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=another-kewl-quote http://freephilosophicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2009/10/another-kewl-quote.html#comments Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:01:00 +0000 Michael Ralph Waldo Emerson

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]]> http://www.celestialfamily.org/kewl-quote/feed 0 http://freephilosophicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2009/08/rational-quote-of-day.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rational-quote-of-the-day http://freephilosophicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2009/08/rational-quote-of-day.html#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:22:00 +0000 Michael "To find real answers we need to understand the real problems, not sensationalized caricatures of the problems spread on the internet."
Brian Dunning

Brian was specifcally speaking about the internet myth that there is a large island of floating trash in the middle of the Pacific. However I find this advice applies to just about any issue lately. Obama's death panels, global climate change, torture, etc. etc.

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Paul Hewson, Irish Philosopher and Humanitarian

]]> http://www.celestialfamily.org/quote-of-the-day/feed 0 http://freephilosophicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2009/06/cool-quote.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cool-quote http://freephilosophicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2009/06/cool-quote.html#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:39:00 +0000 Michael "Put your money away Dr. Sagan. You gave me the universe. Now let me do something for you."

]]> http://www.celestialfamily.org/cool-quote/feed 0 http://freephilosophicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2009/03/marilyn-manson-effect.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-marilyn-manson-effect http://freephilosophicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2009/03/marilyn-manson-effect.html#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:32:00 +0000 Michael So what was the end result? Well it wasn’t quite what they had expected. You see the local grocery store sold the same book in paperback and quite a few kids in school went out and bought it. I remember one boy reading a copy at recess that had clearly been handed down quite a few times. I’ll confess, I read it just to see what the fuss was all about. By protesting and getting the book banned from the school they freely gave the book more prime-time publicity than the publishing company would have ever been able to afford without it. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, however if the boycotts and protests had been deliberate stunts perpetrated by the publisher I doubt if they could have achieved better results. If those “concerned parents” had just put up with it the mediocre book would have faded into obscurity.

I’m not a big fan of Catcher in the Rye. I wouldn’t call the book a waste of time, but I just could never see what all the hoopla was all about. I read it a few years ago in a book group I was in. During the post reading discussion I was the only one that didn’t really care for the book. Although they wouldn’t come out an admit it, I have a sneaky suspicion that the same thing was happening again. Take away the controversy and you’re left with a mediocre piece of work that wouldn’t have made any impact on society.

I think the Harry Potter books have benefited quite a bit form this same phenomenon. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the books. I just don’t think they would have risen to such prominence quite so quickly without all the Bible-Thumpers complaining about witchcraft in our schools.

I read a comment on facebook were someone called this the “Marilyn Manson Effect”. If you take away all the controversy and hype Brian Warner would still be making slurpies at the 7-11. Have you listened to his “music”? He’s a talentless hack who’s only real skill is an ability to convince kids that he’s cool by upsetting their parents. Again if the parent hadn’t gotten so upset about him he would have had to go get a real job somewhere.

I’ve been tip-toeing around a current issue that has hit the news so as to not give it any publicity that it doesn’t deserve. My point is that sometimes it’s much better to just put up with something you disagree with. Protesting, boycotting and getting all upset about it will just give it more attention than it deserves.

Free speech is intended to protect the controversial and even outrageous word; and not just comforting platitudes too mundane to need protection.
Colin Powell

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