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The Common Good Is Best Served By Ignoring It

Developed societies are those in which the common good has been multiplied many times, over a long period of time. It may seem paradoxical that such things happen in spite of virtually all of those societies pretty much ignoring the common good during the period of greatest advancement. Along the same lines, those societies that hold the common good as the ultimate good, in virtually all cases, either don’t develop or decline in prosperity and in the resulting common good. Paradoxes don’t exist in reality, and this is no exception. The common good is nothing but the accumulated ...

Interesting Week For Democracy And Football

It hasn’t been the greatest week for our country, has it? Those who look toward fairness and decency as a sign of our country’s health may feel concerned or disappointed. I don’t know about you, but I thought the Super Bowl halftime show was degrading to women. It seems to me that progressives are always screaming about objectifying women, and then the Hollywood-created halftime show featured stripper poles and tawdry dancing and half-clad women. How was that performance not objectifying women? Aren’t we in the middle of the Harvey Weinstein trial? Most people I know ...

What Does ‘Love’ Really Mean?

Friday, we will, once again, be celebrating the Hallmark Holiday of Love, Valentine’s Day. The Beatles once did a song titled, “All You Need is Love,” and it began with the repetitive lyric of “Love, Love, Love.” It’s a complex word, “love.” What does it really mean? How is it supposed to be used? Is it overused? Is it underused? It seems to be a very confusing word given to such a complex emotion. Love is sometimes used as a noun. No, it is not tangible in that we can grab it physically, or put it in a box, or throw it to someone, but love can be given. It can be ...

Westminster Kennel Club Show Is Here

I’m on my way to New York City today for the 144th Westminster Kennel Club dog show. For the past few years, the competition included dogs who had not yet earned their championship, but this year, it is once again a champions-only show. This year, the group and best in show judging will still be at the Garden, but because of renovations at the Piers, breed judging will be Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, instead of just Monday and Tuesday. Sunday will be hounds and herding, Monday will be terriers, toys and non-sporting breeds, and Tuesday will be working and sporting groups. I’ll ...

Birds Can Have Peculiar Courtship Patterns

Sitting at my table, I’m delighted to see the red-belly pecking away at the suet. It’s always a male so I presume it’s the same one who visits me day after day. His red belly seems very obvious now, in wintertime. There were certainly many days when I wondered about the name — perhaps it’s only that the red-headed had already been used. Where’s his mate, I wondered. I already knew that flickers tend to mate for life, only take separate winter vacations. Is that the story for my red-belly as well? Two articles from Living Bird have been sitting on my desk. The first, ...

Thinking About ‘Heart Month’

I think of February as “Heart Month.” Everywhere you look will see hearts these days. Although the red, white, and pink hearts have little to do with heart function, they are a great reminder to be kind to one of the larger organs of our body, the heart. The jury is still out on whether a plant-based diet or a diet including animal fat is best for you. It depends on your way of thinking. Personally, I favor a diet that includes all of the food groups. If it was good enough for our ancestors, it is good enough for us. That being said, life today is different than it was years ...