William McIntire, PhD

There are in the world two kinds of apathies that plague society: epistemic insouciance, leading one to accept as true claims that have no justification or have been disproven; and moral insouciance, where one knows the harm caused by certain actions but nonetheless proceeds with such actions.

More than ever, it’s important people protest, but to do so peacefully because autocrats seize moments of violent unrest as opportunities to suppress dissent and consolidate power. That is exactly what Trump is trying to provoke. Peaceful protests deprive autocrats of the excuse that violence gifts.

Слава Україні! 🇺🇦 (glory to Ukraine!)

What makes life meaningful? Joy ...despite, intwined with, or because of, ...suffering. Beyond that, nothing. All meaning comes from joy. Meaning is fundamentally aesthetic, and all that gives us pleasure -- all the beauty of the world -- presents itself against a backdrop of suffering and pain.

Wisdom is understanding that our mere existence, and every act, touches the world, and that many ripples emanate from every touch, and that our understanding of the world is itself a ripple… moved by eternity and touched by itself.

Reason is the sculptor giving form to the marble slab of affect.

We are each a light without much time to shine. We can each choose to shine whilst acknowledging the darkness that surrounds us, and against everything that might inevitably extinguish us. We don't determine who we are by the end, which is often beyond our control, but by our character in facing it.

Even poorly done,
Blooming flowers have beauty,
Like every kindness.