Category Archives: Human Nature

Are There Superior Civilizations?

Posted on Wednesday 18 February 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

There are divergent takes on a speech given by Marco Rubio in Europe the other day. NY Times, opinion by Bret Stephens, 17 Feb 2026: Western Civ Can Save Us — Again But the title in print, in this morning’s … Continue reading →

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Religious Motivations

Posted on Tuesday 17 February 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A couple items about religion today. Even the best of the media love to identify supposed “trends,” especially if they’re counter-intuitive. Thus there have been articles in newspapers and online about how the decline in religiosity in America is reversing. … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Psychology, Religion | Leave a comment

The Clash Within

Posted on Sunday 15 February 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How there isn’t a clash of civilizations (e.g. Christian vs. Muslim) so much as a clash between modernity and those who resent it: WOKE vs MAGA; Items about ensuring the “right” people will vote, the erosion of the separation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, History, Human Nature, Human Progress, Music | Leave a comment

How the War on Woke Reflects the Basics of Human Nature

Posted on Sunday 8 February 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Just one piece today, a longish piece I’m going to go through fairly carefully, since it puts current issues about MAGA and conservative regression into a broad context, broader I’d say than the 400 years stated in the title. Salon, … Continue reading →

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The War on Truth; and Religion

Posted on Wednesday 4 February 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Minneapolis and the war on truth; Jerry Coyne on prayer, triggering off Savannah Guthrie news; How Jeff Bezos is destroying The Washington Post just as Trump has done with America; Short takes. – – – It’s only getting worse. We’re … Continue reading →

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The Conservative Resistance to Changing One’s Mind

Posted on Tuesday 27 January 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Why can conservatives not admit they might have been wrong? Trump never admits to being wrong; he never apologizes; And yet the administration is softening its accusations against the people killed by ICE in Minneapolis; Trump contradicts the 2nd amendment; … Continue reading →

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Pulling Bolts Out of the Ferris Wheel

Posted on Monday 26 January 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Train Dreams Republicans on the need to carry guns; How the truth in Minneapolis is whatever Trump says it is; And how the administration altered images and made false posts; Heather Cox Richardson on KQED Forum this morning; Brief items … Continue reading →

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Conservative v. Progressive Projects, the Arc of History, and Autism

Posted on Tuesday 20 January 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Recent thoughts. Inchoate conclusions. Provisional ideas. Things that have occurred to me. Promoting further explorations. Taking a day off from the news. No pics. \ About human nature and the arc of history. First, broadly, the conservative project is to … Continue reading →

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The Latest About Mad King Donald

Posted on Monday 19 January 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump’s letter to Norway, about threatening a hostile takeover of Greenland because he didn’t win a Nobel Prize, written as if by a petulant 12-year-old child; With big picture comments by Tom Nichols; While Trump voters think he’s doing a … Continue reading →

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Trying to Understand How Modern Life Makes Sense in Larger Contexts

Posted on Sunday 18 January 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

I like to think that this blog isn’t about politics, per se, but about following current events and trying to make sense of them in larger contexts, especially the broad contexts both of history and of what science fiction explores. … Continue reading →

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