might reasonably
be expected in questions
with great eagerness

The book, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume, is (according to https://standardebooks.org/) “A foundational text in empiricism and skepticism”

It was published in English in 1748 under the title Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding until a 1757 edition came up with the now-familiar name.

Mr. Hume’s section Of Liberty and Necessity starts with the sentence, “It might reasonably be expected in questions which have been canvassed and disputed with great eagerness, since the first origin of science and philosophy, that the meaning of all the terms, at least, should have been agreed upon among the disputants; and our enquiries, in the course of two thousand years, been able to pass from words to the true and real subject of the controversy.”

One sentence.

66 words.

97 syllables.

Graded out at a 14.4 on the Flesch-Kincaid readability scale.

And some countless words later, ends with “…if the definition above mentioned be admitted; liberty, when opposed to necessity, not to constraint, is the same thing with chance; which is universally allowed to have no existence.”

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I value liberty.

So, by necessity, I am voting for Harris.

Lots of words to the true and real subject of the controversy.

recognize warning
signs of someone who’s on a
path to violence

The CISA is on the job.

Accordioning to Wikipedia, “The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is a component of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for cybersecurity and infrastructure protection across all levels of government, coordinating cybersecurity programs with U.S. states, and improving the government’s cybersecurity protections against private and nation-state hackers.”

They are working hard to insure the digital sanctity of the up coming elections as well as the safety of those people running and managing the day to day operations of America voting.

Among the many things the have done is prepare helpful pamphlets of useful information for these election workers.

One of these pamphlets titled simply, RECOGNIZE.

It is about behaviors that election workers might want to be on the lookout for?

Now what might election workers want to be on the on the lookout?

What might they want to recognize?

You know, back when I was a kid, my elementary school, Crestview, was the local voting stop.

For as long as I can remember the same local ladies where the election workers who ran this voting site.

Often we would walk by and my classmate’s Mom’s would be sitting behind the desks by the voting machines and we would say hello.

Often our class would be invited down to see what was going on and HOW TO VOTE.

The process I mean.

How to fill out a sign a declaration of who you were, which the ladies would look up in giant thick books and then hand you a ballet.

As I got older, the ladies got older.

When I started voting, the schools’ name had changed but the ladies were the same and we would spend a moment to catch up and they would always ask about my brothers and sisters and my folks.

I have moved a lot since then but I have kept voting and I tell you, across this country, whether in Michigan or Georgia or South Carolina, it has been these same little old ladies running the show.

I always felt safe with the fate of democracy in their hands.

So CISA created a pamphlet for these little old ladies titled, RECOGNIZE.

The subtitle is, “Recognize the warning signs of someone on a path to violence.”

Sometimes its seems the biggest enemy of Democracy is Democracy itself.

we build all manner of
walls and fences then wonder why
we feel so alone

We live in a time of such confusion and rancor, with a culture that puts a premium on things that don’t last – money, fame, status, likes.

We chase the approval of strangers on our phones; we build all manner of walls and fences around ourselves and then wonder why we feel so alone.

We don’t trust each other as much because we don’t take the time know each other – and in that space between us, politicians and algorithms teach us to caricature each other and troll each other and fear each other.

Former President Barack Obama in a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 20, 2024.

Regardless of who and what and where and so many other things about this speech, it was the style of speech that stirred my soul.

It was a speech.

It was a political speech.

It had a narrative.

It had ideas.

It asked questions.

It answered questions.

It challenged you.

It wasn’t a rant.

I knew half the country watching this speech loved it.

I also knew that half the country hated it this speech, if they even watched it.

Remember when this is what politics was like?

How did the common denominator get to be so low?

Think of the world Mr. Obama described.

A world of such confusion and rancor, with a culture that puts a premium on things that don’t last – money, fame, status, likes.

A world where we chase the approval of strangers on our phones; we build all manner of walls and fences around ourselves and then wonder why we feel so alone.

A world where we don’t trust each other as much because we don’t take the time know each other – and in that space between us, politicians and algorithms teach us to caricature each other and troll each other and fear each other.

Honestly now, deep down where you are honest, not with the world, but with yourself, who wants to live in this world?