Tag: Authoritarianism
-
Black Swans and Sacrificial Goats (5.5)
Falsifiable propositions do not inspire us to flee—Oedipus-like—out of anxiety or the fear of finding them true. They do not oppress. They invite our questions and tell us how to test them. They submit to criticism, allowing us to discover and correct errors.
-
Not Every Riddle (5.4)
But Oedipus could not let it go. Something in the old man’s words… “Send for the servant.” She reached for him again, took his hands, and searched his face. “Let it be. He begged to leave the city.” “The city suffers. I will know.” He turned to his guards. “Bring him to me.” “Not every…
-
The Man You Seek (5.3)
After entering Thebes, Oedipus learned that the people mourned the loss of their king, and feared who would fill his throne: Laius had left no heir. Then the Sphinx arrived with her riddle, demanding an answer. She killed those who could not provide one, piling at her feet the bones of the bold.
-
The Dolphin’s Always Right (4.6)
Like Apollo, Dionysus was a child of infidelity. This time, jealous Hera sent the Titans to destroy him. They tore the child to pieces and devoured him—all but his heart. Athena rescued it and returned it to Zeus, who swallowed it. In time, the god was born again.
-
Of ICE and Men: Curley Editon
I’ve never told this story. It still makes me blush, even now, though it happened about four decades ago, when I was in seventh grade. “Man is the only animal that blushes—or needs to.” — Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil Every so often—working in the garage, mowing the yard, taking out the trash—the memory jumps out from…
-
The Wombstone (4.3)
Cronus swallowed his children. The prophecy had foretold that, just as he had overthrown his own father, Uranus, so one of his own children would overthrow him. This foreknowledge tormented him. Transformed him.
-
An Ontology of Equality
Orwell warned us that authoritarian governments flatten description and constrict vocabulary in order to maintain control. They repeat words, phrases, and slogans so incessantly that at last these become as familiar as our own voice, and we mistake their rhetoric for truth, and measure all things against it. What does not fit the familiar description…
-
Standing in the Ancient Shadow
A Chapter 1 Anthology of Quotes & Reflections At the Trailhead Chapter 1 traces the early contours of the mountains, myths, children, histories, and fractures that shape the trail ahead. These quotes represent the chapter’s most resonant lines under four themes: nature’s deep logic, the wonder and mystery that wake us in the night, the rise of authoritarian…
-
The No Shortcuts to Now Audio Guide
A Complete Listening Map for the Trail Planning a holiday drive? Cooking, cleaning, or hiding from relatives? Here’s the full No Shortcuts to Now Audio Guide — all three chapters, in order, with easy links. If you’ve been curious about catching up, this is the perfect place to start. All the links you’ll find below. 🌋 Chapter…
-
Waypoint 3.3: Faith, Fury, and the Ditto-Headless Horsemen of the Post-Truth Apocalypse
How the Gospel of Grievance Gave Rise to a Post-Truth Faith “The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.” — Friedrich Nietzsche “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.” — Charles Darwin In February 2020, during the State of…
No Shortcuts to Now 