<Little Ronald is on my case again.> The poor little guy wants to do everything I do at the same time I’m doing it - like Dennis the menace “helping” Mr. Wilson.
<Sofia is typing a paper for her sociology course.> I typed a couple pieces, but I’m so slow . . . <Poor Sofia had morning sickness again today, from the birth control pills.> The first month she had it over a week, and this is the third day she’s been sick this month. I fear the new pills aren’t going to be acceptable either. We’ll probably give up on them after 3-4 months, like we did the other ones. <Sofia is so sensitive to drugs.> I wonder how the male contraceptive pill is coming along!
I ran from La Asunción to the airport and back today. I don’t know how far it is, but it took me about an hour and fifteen minutes. I’ve been running about half an hour’s worth every morning since we moved here, and wanted to make a longer run to see what kind of shape I’m in. I think I’m in fair shape. I made the whole trip running & there are some pretty good hills.
I was thinking this morning about ideological traps, how true it is that any absolute ideology makes the person adhering to it absolutely dangerous to society. Examples: The conservative can fall into the trap of valuing order & the status quo more than justice & the rights of human beings. The liberal can fall into the trap of pushing social welfare at the expense of the vital work ethic and the dignity that comes from a belief that you are earning your own keep. The socialist can fall into the trap of tearing down all the counter-balancing institutions in a society in his haste to achieve greater economic equality, thus leaving the way open for the fascists in socialist clothing to gain a strangle hold.
It’s a truism that the theory of relativity applies to social systems, but it is ever so difficult to develop it at the practical level, especially because there are so many golden throats around who nimbly envelope their self-interest in eloquent ideological pronouncements. Social science has advanced tremendously from a technical standpoint, but remains tethered by the short rope called point-of-view.
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