During the past 150 years, technology has shrunk the world more profoundly than at any other time in history. In less than ten generations, we have undergone the rise and fall of massive colonialism, two world wars, the industrial revolution, invention of the automobile and airplane, modern science, radio and telephone technology, and most recently, …
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Arbeit Macht Frei
Since the end of World War II, there can be no understanding of the Jewish people, their writings and poetry, without the context of the Holocaust. The title of this post is “Arbeit Mact Frei”, German for work will set you free. This horribly ironic saying was emblazoned above the gates of the Nazi German …
Blur
What is real? There is no such thing as objective reality which exists outside of our own observations. Full stop. What we think of as real is nothing more than a macroscopic blurring, a gross averaging of phenomena which allows us to create a tenuous agreement with other people of what constitutes reality. Realism in …
The Bright Continent
Europeans, in their euro-centric way, once referred to Africa as the Dark Continent. To outsiders, particularly westerners, Africa seemed enigmatic and mysterious. Although many different peoples of Africa had been trading with middle eastern and European countries for centuries, not many people from outside the continent had written about the people and cultures there, especially …
Annihilation
If we talk about Native American literature, then that leads inexorably (in this writer’s opinion) to a broader discussion of Native American culture. Once we take that road, it quickly turns from pavement to dirt, from dirt to a trail, and then even the trail becomes lost and obscured. The native people inhabiting the Americas …
A Break from Tradition
Confucian Confusion Confucian thought and teachings provided the foundation for Eastern culture throughout Asia for two thousand years. Although there was an ebb and flow to the influence and importance placed on Confucianism and the Analects, no serious scholar would deny the depth and breadth of their importance and influence throughout history. However, during the …
To Wen or Not to Wen, that is the Question!
This week we explored select pieces of ancient Chinese literature, specifically some excerpts from the Classic of Poetry, as well as some quotes and writings of Confucius (taken from the Analects, or selected writings). We were introduced to the concept ofwen, which is complex and possibly even alien to the Western mind. Wen is a …
Continue reading “To Wen or Not to Wen, that is the Question!”
Would you rather be chill, or “bug” out?
The theme this week involves the human condition of making major life decisions, and the effects on our psyche when we feel trapped, helpless, or unable to make decisions that affect our own lives. We may not wake up as a literal insect, as is the case in Kafke’s “Metamorphosis”, but we have all been …
Mokeymark 101 