Author: Araminta

Friday Night and we are here? Redux

It’s just a thought that crossed my mind
What are we doing for mankind?
We’re blogging here on Friday night
When humanity is in such plight.

Could there be new paths to seek
If we, as folk were not so weak?
Charity begins at home
Could you not compose a pome? Continue reading “Friday Night and we are here? Redux”

What is society?

Epitaph for the eighties?  ‘there is no such thing as society’

I think we’ve been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it’s the government’s job to cope with it. ‘I have a problem, I’ll get a grant.’ ‘I’m homeless, the government must house me.’ They’re casting their problem on society. And, you know, there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first. It’s our duty to look after ourselves and then, also to look after our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations. There’s no such thing as entitlement, unless someone has first met an obligation.

Margaret Thatcher

Love her or hate her, but in this instance she does have a point. What is society?  My thanks to Amicus for  posing this question.

Do we Care?

Sometimes it is worth stopping to think how much more real things become when one knows, loves and cares about individual people caught up in some of the situations we are discussing on various internet sites.

I remember my anguish over the conflict in former Yugoslavia; we have friends who live there. We were close to their children and they have visited us often. In all the confusion of this war the lack of communication from this family was hard to bear. Continue reading “Do we Care?”

Preaching and Patience

Patience as in wearing thin and oh, why oh why do they do it? Preaching, well isn’t it a bit of a waste of time?

We are none of us impressionable teenagers, and we have, by and large formed our views on life. Education, upbringing, life experiences and so forth, have made us what we are.  I am not suggesting we should stop learning or that our views should not change, but talking to people who do not necessarily share our own experiences should perhaps result in our understanding their viewpoint, rather than embracing it as the only  “truth”. So why the zeal to convert others? Vive la difference, and thank goodness we do not all think alike. We can’t all be right!

I have absolutely no desire to convert others to my point of view; merely to express them and perhaps occasionally to have them understood.

I lurve my toothbrush!

I have been using an electric toothbrush for the last twenty five years or so, and wouldn’t be without one. A few days ago my latest model, an exorbitantly expensive Philips model just crashed. Lots of flashing lights but none of the buttons worked and none of the fourteen programmes worked. No extra care, super duper deep clean plus gum massage no “brush and go”, economy programme; nothing! It was no consolation that the really splendid sonic device which renders the brushes germ free continued to function. Continue reading “I lurve my toothbrush!”

Riding for the Disabled

Inspired by Bravo’s recent comment on Ike’s post:

I’m sure most of you have heard of this splendid organisation. Before I became involved some years ago, I must confess that I regarded the combination of the unpredictable equine and the mentally and/or physically disabled to be a recipe for disaster. Continue reading “Riding for the Disabled”

Conspiracy Theories

Conspiracy theories. Well, conspiracies do happen, of that there is no doubt, but do we really believe that the moon landing was a gigantic hoax, or that there is proof of Obama’s illegibility to be President of the United States?

I’m not suggesting that we should not have  a healthy scepticism with regard to media information but KISS may also a good idea. If it looks like a duck……

Historians for example, legitimately use conspiracy theories. This is often due to incomplete evidence, or suggestive facts. They are generally presented as theories, however, and do not claim to be the truth. New evidence, for example is welcomed and theories are re-examined in the light of such discoveries.

Paranoid conspiracy theories, however, are a totally different animal. In the minds of  believers there is nothing that can be presented that can ever convince them that they are mistaken in their belief. Logic and reason are useless because any evidence to suggest they are wrong is dismissed. Retrospective analysis, or ain’t  hindsight a wonderful thing, is employed and events are interpreted to match the theory. Any evidence which points to any other conclusion is resolutely ignored.

Well I have to admit that I enjoy reading conspiracy theories and some sound very convincing but I cannot help but feel paranoid conspiracy theories are a prime example of irrational thinking.