Entries by Thompaine

The Impatient Tyrant

The tyrant and the extremist are usually very impatient with the democratic process of discussion, negotiation and compromise that distinguishes Western democracies. Disagreements are seen as betrayals, protests as insurrections, dissent as sedition, and the accommodation of different points of view as a waste of precious time. Thus they seek to speed up the process […]

All Is Vanity…and there is nothing new under the sun.

1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. […]