evoles ut ira breve nefas sit; regna

 

It's a normal Sunday quiet today! No horns, no engine noises, no diesel fumes! There were some officers checking the few drivers around, but the streets are quiet. News shows that the Hill is clear, which is just marvellous. Even Jerry is less on edge today, but he's still very cuddly. Last night he crawled onto my tummy and curled up there to sleep. Don is also a bit more energetic, so all is well. I hope that my sleep improves a little more-I've been waking up after an hour and then it's difficult to fall asleep again. I was able to have a small meal today also. Relief!

After the past few weeks, I have been wondering at how easy it seems to be to radicalize individuals, even in liberal democracies. Or maybe that should be especially in liberal democracies. Listening to the truly nonsensical comments and beliefs from the people in the streets, I came to the conclusion that the educational system has failed so many! Or, perhaps more accurately, adults have failed successive generations of students. When parents go into schools to object to a curriculum, it fails students when the objections are based on beliefs. If you, as a parent, think that a school should ban teaching, for instance, evolution or ethics or critical thought because you "believe" that children should not be "exposed to" experiences you didn't have. you're harming a generation. Your ignorance is not a badge of honour.

Feelings don't override science. Reality is not subjective. Frankly, whether or not you "believe" in science doesn't affect how it works.

Banning books-a truly barbaric practice- only serves to reinforce stupidity. What you should be doing is learning! Learning to have difficult conversations about unpleasant things. Rather than ban "Huckleberry Finn" for the use of the n-word, learn to discuss the societal practices and why they are wrong and how we can improve. Instead of banning "Harry Potter" for sorcery, understand why so many people enjoy the story. There are a number of banned books which I've found to be boring or a challenge to complete, but not worth banning- except as a marketing stunt to increase sales. Most of the reasons given for banning books are because of "inappropriate language" (much worse can be found in TV, movies and music consumed by the same audience) or "inappropriate sexual activity"-ditto- or things that are from people who have no exposure outside of a narrow segment of society. Those people, sadly, are a danger to others. I say this because apart from working to ban books, they espouse some bizarre practices and bully others to join them. It would be infinitely preferable if they learned to hold difficult conversations. Added to this, is the fallacy of "doing your own research" on health issues, where they spread lies and misinformation. They couch this in language that suggests that they are concerned. for the welfare of others. But they lack the necessary training to be reliable. The fact that some of them might be respected in certain fields, it doesn't transfer to all others. And that mindset assumes that the whole world is set against you. That's sad and pathetic.

OK, before I get further down that rabbit hole, I'll stop now. Good night.