Zeitgeist Zephyr

Spirit of the Westward Wind

Archive for April 4th, 2008


Blogontology - 4 April 2008

Published April 4th, 2008 in Blogontology, Thoreau | No Comments »

This new series of posts that I’ll post on a regular basis is called “Blogontology.”  Broken down, that’s blog and ontology (which is the study of the nature of existence.)  In essence, it’s a blogger’s attempt to understand the world and the nature of ’being.’  It’s become a part of my normal daily routine to read a passage by a philosopher during my daily prayers. 

Right now, I’m hooked on the two most well know American Transcendentalists, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.  I’ve included links to databases of their work on my blogroll, as most of the time quotes that I use here will be referenced back to those sites. 

This first quote comes from Chapter 2 of Thoreau’s Walden and has been a significant guide for me this week.   

“Morning is when I am awake and there is a dawn in me. Moral reform is the effort to throw off sleep…To be awake is to be alive. I have never yet met a man who was quite awake. How could I have looked him in the face?

We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor…

… I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

- Henry David Thoreau

The whole context of this passage can be viewed at the following page:

http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden02.html

To Democrats - “Chill”

Published April 4th, 2008 in Indecision 2008 | No Comments »

I firmly believe in allowing the democratic process to map its own course, as the name implies.  Let the will of the people decide their fate.  However the longer that Obama and Hillary go at it, the harder it will be to form a unified party come elcetion time in November.  Even being an Obama supporter, I would still vote for Hillary if she were to be the party nominee in November.  Remember, because I’m an Obama supporter, that means that I also think that Hillary isn’t the best choice. 

That’s what many people forget about this part of the process.  We’re merely supporting the person we think is the best.  The fact that there are two equally qualified candidates to choose from should be a Godsend.  Conservatives have selected John McCain because he’s moderate enough that, from their view, he’s not Bush Part II, despite what most liberals see.  Even though McCain is quote un-quote, middle of the road, doesn’t mean that anything is going to change.  The idea or suggestion that a large majority of Democrats would defect and vote for McCain is preposterous. 

It’s childish to say “Well, even though this person still shares the majority of my views, I’m not going to vote for them because I don’t like them.”  All you have to do is look at what 8 years of Republican rule has done to us and you’ll have a preview of what the next 4 or even 8 years could be.  Even if Democrats happen to make a poor decision in who they choose as their party nominee, 4 years of Hillary or Obama would be better than 4 years of McCain. 

It doesn’t help that the candidates are losing sight of what’s important in this election.  It’s not ‘hope’ or ‘change’, but rather unity.  Democrats need to get their act together and unite if this country is to stand any chance of reclaiming its glory at home and abroad.