Are there cosmic moral standards?

In the course of the Republic Plato will argue that not only do moral truths, when revealed as they really are rather than contextualized into a social construct, have the force to compel a rational person’s actions; but moral truths have the force to compel the rational arrangement for the polis, which will, in turn, help promote the good behavior of its citizens. The good polis is made by the good person, his moral character intact, and the good polis, in turn, helps turn out good persons, their moral characters intact. Plato goes a very far distance in the Republic beyond both the nihilism of Thrasymachus and the social constructivism of Glaucon.

Goldstein, Rebecca. Plato at the Googleplex (p. 159). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

A universal moral standard was advocated at the Nuremburg trials in opposition to the defense that war criminals were just "following orders."

What is a person to do when they are ordered by an authority to engage in immoral behavior? This question, behaviorally was answered in the famous Stanley Milgram studies where normal human beings did horrible things to inflict pain on others on the authoritative experimenter's orders. Our country has faced similar situations with the "torture" debate a few years ago which gave us the Abu Ghraib crimes.

So where do these more universal, cosmic moral standards come from? Is there a universal right and wrong that transcends culture and social norms and attitudes? Plato argues these higher moral standards do exist? To what extent do you agree?

Do you think that the covenant based on the seven principles of Unitatian Universalism provide a standard of these higher moral values?

Facing life with faith and equanimity

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Sometimes people say that a person is a "man of the times". We also say that a person was in the right place at the right time. Circumstances are constantly shifting. Accidents are waiting to happen. Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.

Are you ready for whatever comes your way? Will you be able to take advantage of the future circumstances? The Boy Scout motto is "Be prepared". When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

A spiritual life is one where a person is light on his feet, is able to go with the flow, to respond to circumstances even if challenging and at times distressful. My goal, of which I often fall short, is to face life and whatever it brings with equanimity.

I have dealt with many very difficult things in my life, the most difficult of which was when my two youngest children were killed in a drunk driving crash. People often ask, “How do you deal with something like that?” People have dealt with worse things in the Holocaust, and today they deal with worse things as the consequences of Trumpism are felt in the U.S. and around the world. You cannot compare one traumatic tragedy with the next for each is unique and worthy of acknowledgement in its own right.

People want to blame God for letting such things happen but this is nonsense for God had nothing to do with it. It is human beings who cause DWI crashes and war and most of the other terrible events which inflict pain on people. It is a lack of awareness and stupidity that causes most of the heartache in the world and until people learn and become more aware, these heartaches will continue.

The mature soul knows that people are ignorant – that is- they are unaware. They sleep walk through life unconscious for if they were truly conscious they couldn’t do the hurtful and destructive things they do and the support they give to others who do them. There is a tremendous lack of awareness of the interdependent web of life of which all things are a part.

I always liked the bumper sticker which says, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”
And so I suffer from therapeutic depression in which I observe the goings on and I try to maintain an attitude of compassion and equanimity because otherwise life would be too hard and I would give up.

It is faith that keeps me going. I am reminded of the old spiritual, “We’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord.” So when people ask me how do you do it, I say “Faith”. Faith not in some far away God up in the clouds, but faith in my values of Unitarian Universalism and the other great religions which believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and justice and compassion and equity in human relations, and the free and responsible search for truth and meaning, and a respect for the interdependent web of all existence, and an abiding faith that some day all humans will get it. We have a ways to go before everybody loves everybody all the time. I look forward to that day with faith, optimism, and equanimity

Ask Alexa - Does projection make perception?

Alexa: Is it true that what I see is what I get?

Yes, you are constantly projecting and projection makes perception.

Alexa: Did you hear about the grasshoppers who were eating corn?

Yes, they went in one ear and out the other.

On October 17, 1979, 40 years ago today, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

1979 - Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Here's a snippet from Wikipedia:

Mother Teresa, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, (born August 26, 1910 – September 5, 1997) was an Albanian[2][3] Roman Catholic nun with Indian citizenship[4] who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata (Calcutta), India in 1950. For over forty five years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charity's expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries.

By the 1970s she had become internationally famed as a humanitarian and advocate for the poor and helpless, due in part to a documentary, and book, Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, in 1980 for her humanitarian work. Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity continued to expand, and at the time of her death it was operating 610 missions in 123 countries, including hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counseling programs, orphanages, and schools.

Ask Alexa - Why do I think that the world is evil?

Alexa: Why do I think that the world is evil and live in perpetual anxiety?

Because you have projected your own guilt and expect that sooner or later, one way or another, fast or slow, you will be punished for what you have done.

Alesxa: Did you hear about the scientists who created a flea?
Yes, I heard they made it from scratch.

Are the current "debates" really democratic?

I tried to watch the "debate" among the Democrat candidates for the U.S. President last night and just couldn't. After 10 minutes I turned the TV off and went to bed to read "Regarding the Pain Of Others" by Susan Sontag.

We have become, in this age of electronic media a nation of voyeurs who are desiring to be entertained rather than informed. Plato must be rolling over in his grave. There is no effort to find the truth or beauty or goodness but rather to be persuasive and convince the viewers of their extraordinarianess. 

The set up by the DNC and the news networks to engender the emotional arousal of the audience rather than serious reflection on the issues is an example of democracy in one of its worst aspects. The job of chosing representatives have become a popularity contest based on "crowd sourcing" strategies rather than vetting the most qualified person for the job.

If we are seeking a philosopher king or queen to lead our country, the format that has been chosen to help us identify the best person for the job is seriously flawed.

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large. This reads like a noble principle and yet it doesn't specify what the "democratic process" or processes are. The term "demcratic" can be different things to different people and what is democratic about 12 candidates on a stage being triggered by provocative questions so they can attack each other and struggle to one up each other seems like entertainment like World Federation Wrestling rather than a helpful, substantive, exercise in discussing the issues that face us all not only in the United States but in the world.

October 16, 1916 Margaret Sanger opens the first birth control clinic103 years ago today and paves the way for women's liberation from unwanted pregnancy

On October 16, 1916 - Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in New York City, NY. For more information you can access the article about her in Wikipedia by clicking here.

A key factor in our modern society promoting the inherent worth and dignity of every person is the ability to control and take responsibility for one's own fertiity. Margaret Sanger's pioneering work, intensely criticized, has paved the way for a more just, compassionate, and equal society.