Monthly Archives: December 2011

The five requirements of civil harmony –Robert M. Shelby, 12-4-11. [507 txt wds]

Golo Mann (born Angelus Gottfried Thomas Mann, 1909-1994, third son of Thomas Mann,) wrote his History Of Germany From 1789, published as “Deutsche Geschichte des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts,” in 1958 and reprinted by Penguin Books, 1990.] In this work, Mann remarks, treating of Bismarck’s administration, “There is no ideal form of government.” This is […]

Reply to Dennis Lund’s “OWS: Influencers of the Influential Over the Influenced” [Benicia Herald 12-3-11,] –Robert M. Shelby, 12-6-11.

After an interestingly informative piece, Dennis ends with: “Those coming of age in this era of Occupy’s Obamavilles are not asking for an opportunity, nor do they demonstrate the price they are willing to pay or the sacrifices they will make. Instead, they are demanding it, and if they cannot earn it because of obstacles […]

Class In Poetry –Robert M. Shelby, 11-22-11. [558 txt wds]

Poetry alludes. It has context, background in history and biography, a foreground in common experience, and when these are missing, it only eludes. It becomes hard to pin down. It becomes vague, unclear, even finally ridiculous and uninteresting, save maybe for its music or the glassy glitter of its words on the page. Apart from […]

U. S. military: Is it really silly? (Cont’d) –Robert M. Shelby, 11-17-11. [518 txt wds]

Let’s see. The Pentagon is hoping to find a way to “armor” its combat personnel from the dire stresses of combat which make some individuals break and cower or panic and run. That armoring is, of course, hopefully mental or psychologically “internal.” At least one faction thinks religious belief may brace a fighter up more […]

U. S. military goes silly about religion –Robert M. Shelby, 11-17-11. [830 txt wds]

<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-military-atheists-20111114,0,7258479.story?track=icymi> Again we read of the Pentagon’s ill-conceived notions of what gives strong character to service persons in combat. The old canard about there being “no room for atheists in foxholes” is ridiculously unscientific. It highlights our cultural ignorance about both humanity and deity as well as about selfhood and the sources of courage under […]