Letter Never Sent

I like Michel de Montaigne because he helps me when I get too out of control, when I begin to become too fatalistic and cynical, or even overzealous. He emphasized moderation, pragmatism, and dispassionate reason. To me his message is ‘relax’. As Eugen Weber describes, “Unusual in trying to take no side in the religious wars that were tearing France apart, Montaigne was more unusual still in that he felt no hatred for his enemies — at least, no more than circumstances required. His humorous scepticism and his detachment would be recognized as subversive when his book was placed on the Index of prohibited books in 1676.”

Here are some of his quotations. He was fond of quoting others so it is appropriate to quote him here:

• He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak.
• How many things we held yesterday as articles of faith which today we tell as fables.
• If you don’t know how to die, don’t worry; Nature will tell you what to do on the spot, fully and adequately. She will do this job perfectly for you; don’t bother your head about it.
• It is good to rub and polish our brain against that of others.
• It is not death, it is dying that alarms me.
• Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself.
• Not being able to govern events, I govern myself.
• The world is but a perpetual see-saw.
• We can be knowledgable with other men’s knowledge but we cannot be wise with other men’s wisdom.
• There is no conversation more boring than the one where everybody agrees.
• Man is certainly stark mad. He cannot make a worm, and yet he will be making gods by the dozen.
• There is, nevertheless, a certain respect and a general duty of humanity that ties us, not only to beasts that have life and sense, but even to trees and plants.
• When I play with my cat, who knows whether I do not make her more sport than she makes me?
• The souls of emperors and cobblers are cast in the same mould…. The same reason that makes us wrangle with a neighbour causes a war betwixt princes.
• He that I am reading seems always to have the most force.
• There never was in the world two opinions alike, no more than two hairs or two grains; the most universal quality is diversity.
• There is no man so good, who, were he to submit all his thoughts and actions to the laws, would not deserve hanging ten times in his life.
• I have never seen a greater monster or miracle in the world than myself.

• MSNBC: Saddam says real U.S. aim is to control oil

• China Struggles to Cut Reliance on Mideast Oil China gets three fifths of its oil from the mideast. If the US builds a client state in the new Iraq they will control the oil. It’s about the oil. That’s the real reason the Europeans and Russia oppose taking over Iraq. None of this has anything to do with weapons. The US has more ‘weapons of mass destruction’ than any other nation.

Maryland has opened its first PUBLIC Military Academy. That’s right, we will soon have little Big Brother Youth squads popping up all over in order to instill ‘discipline’, indoctrinate young people, and to develop the militaristic, fascist mindset. You have to get them young and mold them into compliant yes-men and women. The individual mind must be subdued and controlled. This is disgusting.

FORESTVILLE, Md. (AP) _ The 14-year-old slumped in his desk chair, sinking into his baggy jeans and oversized T-shirt, was trying to talk back, but retired Army Sgt. Charles Moore wasn’t listening.

“It’s ‘Yes, sir’ or ‘No, sir.’ Is that so hard to explain?” Moore barked at the teen, who slouched lower with each word. “You’re going to have to start getting used to it.”

Things are different this year for the roughly 400 ninth-graders, boys and girls alike, who started school Monday at Forestville Military Academy, the new name for Forestville High School.

Once Prince George’s County’s lowest-performing high school, Forestville is the first in Maryland to become a public military academy. It’s part of a growing trend nationwide among districts that hope military-style discipline can turn around struggling schools.

A handful of other public military schools already exist, including the nation’s first, Franklin Military Academy, which opened in 1980 in Richmond, Va. …

“Our push is for these students to leave and go to college. We’re not pushing the military,” said Eric Lyles, Forestville’s principal. “If a child wants to go to the military, that’s between them and their family.”

Yeah, sure. I’m sure you have no preference one way or another.

The Army will pay for the four types of uniforms the students have to wear and for books and other materials for their JROTC classes, Lyles said. Many of the new faculty are retired Army staff like Moore.

Those close ties have caused concern that the academies will simply funnel students into the armed services, especially the low-income and minority students who make up much of the enrollments.

A 1995 study funded by the American Friends Service Committee found that 45 percent of JROTC graduates nationally went on to join the military.

The rigid structure also discourages independence, said study author Catherine Lutz, a University of North Carolina anthropologist.

“What it does is discourage people from dissenting and asking questions,” she said. “It encourages children to be followers rather than leaders.”

Bacon said students at the Chicago academy are encouraged to be freethinkers in class. But there are times, like morning drills, when following orders is required.

“You have to have an analytical, critical mind,” he said. “But you also learn how to do what you are told to do.”

Whatreallyhappened.com has some convincing evidence that the so-called bin Laden ‘confession tape’ is a fake, a sham, a lie.

From CBSNews.com:

Support for the First Amendment has eroded significantly since Sept. 11 and nearly half of Americans now think the constitutional amendment on free speech goes too far in the rights it guarantees, according to a new poll.

The sentiment that the First Amendment goes too far was already on the rise before the terrorist attacks a year ago, doubling to four in 10 between 2000 and 2001.

The poll released Thursday found that 49 percent think the First Amendment goes too far, a total about 10 points higher than in 2001.

“Many Americans view these fundamental freedoms as possible obstacles in the war on terrorism,” said Ken Paulson, executive director of the First Amendment Center, based in Arlington, Va., which commissioned the survey. Almost half also said the media has been too aggressive in asking the government questions about the war on terrorism.

By the way, this means 50% of Americans aren’t welcome at my next party.