Modernism

 Where did it come from and what did it mean?

 

Modernism: a term fast achieving a posture of decline while some enthusiastically add the prefix: 'post'

 

But it represents an age of gross optimism, revolutionary theories and paradigm shifts in society, culture and politics. 

 An Age of the Ascent of Man or humankind that represented the rise of human reason over nature  and the world and its explanation. With the certainty of Bacon's  scientific method, the crucial ideas or the fundamentals were evident with vast loads of data potentially collected and interpreted.

 Many Historians stipulate this age began as Copernicus published: On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres. 
The time: year 1543. 
But wholesale transformative time had arrived with social and religious reformation of the medieval Church and the 'plain citizen' Progress, at first was slow, but proceeded, accelerating decades and centuries.

 

The Scientific Revolution had set the course of humanity for some centuries to come. Man, not God, became the ultimate measure. God began to take a backseat, he was not the driver any longer.  Seeds were planted,all was not as it seemed. While God and others were pushed to the margins, man continued his spectacular, amazonian march into the future, technologically driven and scientifically sound. Everything, no problem, was  unsolvable, nothing thwarted or is unyieldingly unavailable. Man, science and its sister, technology advances our agenda.

 

Women, often invisible, overlooked and unacknowledged were thrust into the mainstream with good results. More contributed, advancing humankind, then in my opinion, momentum stalled with some strange over- the- top conceptions. Men, in particular, white ,older males were to blame for all social ills. A new generation began to question and disrupt every tradition. Reversing ancient customs, norms and values with a few disastrous results.

War was declared on reason and critical thinking. Suddenly language had  some of its declared meaning, altered. If you didn't follow, you were annulled or cancelled.
Even girl and boyhood had its state of play re-conformed to multiple expressions of sexuality. Children became confused and had unscientific surgeries and reversed biological/ pharmacological sex treatments. (some tomboys became  permanent blended fe/males all in the name of scientific progress ?) Toddlers, as young as three, were being taught about gender sexuality, sex education for virtual babies?

Okay, i'll stop writing about the excesses and absurdities of what is known as 'post -modernist thought'. Uberreach or overreached nonsense.

i'll deal with it later in another essay.

 

thus to return to the word...

Modernism can be summed as the  title of Thomas Paine's book; The Age of Reason.

( by Digital Anvil) 

 

 (Post- Modernism is harder to define, more like a slippery eel of a term.)

 Affirmation:

 

 You and I were not taught this at...

 

 I had no idea that the men whose science i use from day to day-- Newton,Pascal, Leibniz and Boyle for example....were among a galaxy of scientists who had the conviction of God's existence that resulted in the dedication of their lives to him.

Professor Roy. E. Peacock.

( I affirm the same conclusion. Digital Anvil )

Albert Einstein:

Albert Einstein once stated:

Science without religion is lame; Religion without science is blind.

The Invisible String Theory:

Guest Essayist:'Z.'

 A theory, I hold dear to myself 

This is because I've realised that me and my soulmate, current partner, have crossed paths unknowingly 3 times [ in ] All [ the ] years apart from each other. All part of the universe's plan, this crossing of our paths one after the other has led me to not only be excited about the small things in life, but also become a better, best version of myself. And for this. I believe, that our ' pinky's' had an invisible string that tied us together, allowing us to finally met for the last time.

This brief essay is from an upcoming Medical Doctor whose personal philosophy is exemplified by this contribution. Please  welcome guest essayist: 'Z'

Have You felt the tug of the universe or noted links,parallels or events that brought someone into your universe?

 

Comment and reveal your delightful story like 'Z'.

The Reality We Don’t Want to Admit?

For Most people in the West, Peace feels Normal.

Borders are lines on a map. Police arrive when called. Wars happen “over there,” filtered through headlines, statements, sanctions, and strongly worded resolutions. Violence is viewed as a malfunction of the system, rather than a permanent feature of human history. This relative safety has afforded many in the West to not only condemn wars that don't align with their political beliefs but also get on their high horse without understanding historical context or necessity.

That long stretch of relative safety has produced a dangerous assumption: that everyone thinks as we do, wants what we want, and ultimately desires a peaceful, orderly society if only given the chance.

The truth is simpler—and far more uncomfortable.

Most don’t.

Across much of the world, from Russia to the Middle East, strength is not considered immoral or embarrassing. It is revered. Admired. Trusted. In many places, it is the only language that reliably prevents chaos. Boundaries aren’t suggestions. They are enforced—or they disappear.

The West forgot this because it could afford to.

Western elites assume adversaries are motivated by grievances that can be resolved through dialogue, incentives, or concessions. They believe restraint signals moral superiority. They assume de-escalation is always the enlightened choice. They tell themselves that deep down, everyone wants the same liberal, rules-based order they do.

This is where the West is most clueless—especially about the Middle East. And people there know it.

Much of the Arab world does not aspire to Western secular liberalism, procedural compromise, or abstract “peace processes.” Legitimacy is not measured by intentions or moral language. It is measured by outcomes: who wins, who loses, who enforces order, and who cannot. Honor, power, and deterrence matter more than optics. Weakness is not forgiven; it is exploited.

The centrality of honor in Arab Muslim societies cannot be overstated. It is not symbolic or rhetorical—it is lived. Literally every day, people are killed for violating it (mostly women). This isn’t a moral judgment; it’s a cultural reality the West consistently refuses to confront.

So when Western leaders speak the language of restraint and nuance, they hear maturity. Their adversaries hear hesitation.

October 7 shattered this illusion in real time.

Hamas did not miscalculate Israel’s intentions. It calculated Western reactions perfectly. It understood that Israeli force would be condemned, contextualized, and diluted. It knew Western audiences would rush to explain brutality rather than confront it. It anticipated that outrage would shift—from the crime itself to the response to it.

And it was right.

Israel’s response exposed the gap between Western self-image and global reality. The outrage was not about civilian suffering alone—war has produced civilian suffering for all of human history. The outrage was about Israel refusing to perform weakness for Western approval. That refusal is what truly unsettled people.

Russia doesn’t respect moral outrage. Iran doesn’t fear UN votes. Terror groups don’t respond to nuance. They respond to consequences. Every time the West hesitates to acknowledge this, it teaches its enemies something valuable: push harder.

The tragedy is that this confusion doesn’t just endanger the West. It pressures allies to fight with one hand tied behind their backs, to apologize for defending themselves, to prioritize optics over deterrence. It demands that they absorb blows quietly so Western consciences can remain clean.

That’s not virtue.

That’s negligence.

The Reality We Don’t Want to Admit.

 

( This article's origin is lost. If you find the original author, please let me know? ) i think i got this from the internet possibly Substack. Its an excellent essay of insightfulness, erudite and warning of danger like the robot in the TV programme " Lost in Space."

Devices and Feelings.

Why allow vourself to be bored,feeling uncertain or some uncomfortable,negative emotion when you can pull out a device, something most of us never leave home without or be more than a few metres from, that can fill your brain with adventure and  informarion and entertainment, social commentary, news and more? Why allow yourself to be bored when you have at once again at your fingertips, access to  millions of self-help tips, advice from influencers, suggestions that will cure or alleviate that which you're finding distressing?

 Taking our minds off that which is unpleasant is very easy. Getting help is also, in many ways, very easy (not that I'm saying it's simple to overcome serious mental illness), just that it isn't hard to search for and to find tips and tricks that some search for and to find solace,distraction or remedy or suggestion that will cure all your ills!)

Typically when we experience distress ,negativity and uncertainity, we rarely sit still and feel those emotions. Instead we pull out our device and distract our minds.

Is this always wise?  How has this, I invite you to ponder, worked for you thus far?

( Extract from the book: Lost and Found by Dr Tim Sharp. Edited)

 Thanks to my Readers

 

 

Thank You my Readers for being my earnest " returnees " who come to my website to be enlightened,thought-provoked 'N' complemented with a touch of wisdom amid some (downloaded) knowledge to consider.

Always comment, if you may and generate direction in my essays for personal growth and encouragement. Alternative views Welcome.

( by Digital Anvil )

(Thank You, Ruby, for being my friend even after knowing my flaws and problems.

I'm grateful to have you in my life.)

 Social Media and Real Life

 Face time and the time you face someone?

 

But we are fighting a relatively losing battle. Most of the world's biggest and most ingenious companies are spending most of their  time, money and research persuading us that their apps and screens.can replace real human interaction. 

They can't!

 Social media is really anti-social media.

The high- tech companies whole  mission is to replace eye contact or face to face interaction with screen and eye interaction. Which can only replicate,but not replace real life interaction.

Digital life is not real life. Its an imitation and therefore a poorer substitute.

 

 Realistic but not real.

 

Face Someone Today, Look into their Eyes and Smile ...

... and see their World light up. 

 

{ Kiss and Hug a screen today?}

 

(Agree: Digital Anvil ) 

 

Reason for the Season.

Merry, Tremendously Happy Christmas to Everyone who love !

May your dreams be multiplied this Christmas. Remember the Reason for the Season is Jesus !

(In the birth of Jesus, God's heart is revealed.)

 

 

With my poor love but a Cosmos of His.

Digital Anvil

There are no shortcuts

I’ve been reminded this week that there are no shortcuts in life; we all need to choose to play the long game.

In every key area of your life—health, finances, faith, and family—make choices today that can have a generational impact.

In every decision, choose wisely, even if it doesn’t bring a reward tomorrow, next week, or even next year. Those wise decisions will bear fruit in 10, 20, or 30 years, delivering outcomes that can last for generations.

Keep a long-term view of your life. By planting seeds today through wise decisions and by building your personal Christian faith, you will reap a harvest in the years ahead. In life, there truly are no shortcuts.

Share this daily- reading.

With my poor love but a cosmos of His.

Censorship, Anyone ? ( Re-Work)

 Censorship,Anyone? ( Re-Work )

In the UK, police now make a staggering number of arrests for posts on social media. The total rose by 58 % berween 2019 and 2023,to12,183 cases.

After a chiding speech by Vice President J D Vance, many Western Governments are not progressing his recommendations. Contradicting their democracy's most fundamental law of free speech.

Censorship is still rife and difficult to abandon. Factually some Western governments are watching Australia keenly with its newly established social media under 16 year old ban.How will it fare depends on how much they dare? Love and understanding (Governments) do decline, implementation depends on how much voters should whine.

( by Digital Anvil )

Common sense logic 

How can you be sure that you are right if you have never heard an explanation of why you could be wrong?

(Agreed: Digital Anvil with thanks)

 

PS: Conflicting views prove that Freedom of speech is alive and well. But current history almost banished that fundamental right. Speak up and out. Dare to protest and shout. Unruly should never be, protesting should be calm and bright, danger when stupidity becomes a right. 

Woman Undeniable: ( Re-Work A)

 

"It has been said that a girl learns her worth as her breasts emerge at school."

But this is the poorest  and inherently so  of an assessment of a yet developing physique that culminates in later young adulthood and as a woman. It never-- ultimately-- defines a girl or woman, even though its biologically feminine or female. Like Martin Luther King Jr said, her worth is defined by her character.( Paraphrase)

Daughters learn the real female promise from Dad and Mum. Time and peers grow the girl.Besties, cinema and radical music and first crushes. Teachers and boys, sleepovers, unicorns and snakes. Laughter, heartbreak, tears and fakes. All come together to make such fun. She is  hoping love breaks through like the sun.

Books and shining knights crown the night. Never did her heart receive such light.

 Then this girl  is skewed by the  accidental discovery of pornography  online.

 Young girls ( and young boys ) are influenced by multiplied views of nude young males and females. Smartphones  further distorting that view of truth.No longer are boys and men seen as innocent, certainly  they no longer  dreamed of as sublime,heroic knights in armour. Well,they dream as best as it can be.

Feminism vowed empowerment but lost some credibility when overreaching its momentum by assimilating transgender and woke ideologies.

 Blame  for much of social ills settled on male makeup but the error went further and declared masculinity ' toxic' while females were all considered wholly innocent and pure. Sinless nature seems to be. Are they though for all to see?

Is perfection all female divine? Yes! Some say, No! Many do state. Lovely and kind, nuture is true,but sinless perfection isn't their due.

Almost impossible to escape  notice is the outrage  or backlash intensified by the 90s male hip hop and rap artists leaving girl power and women in disarray. It became a thing .along the way much to the dismay of countless many. Parents were outraged and society  became divided as it often does. Is the social reversal requirement for 'toxicity' the feminisation of boys and men? It seemed so!

Boomers were like 'kindergarten' bands with  love profound  and love lost lyrics and heavy rock music compared to  the rage,violence and hatred espoused by  some  music artists of the millennials which

left a  dark stain on males and females alike.

Gen Z males softened the male angst and rage   and begun to re-solve the confusion by reverting to conservatism and many  Gen Z girls  hardened their stance and collapsing into what one might call unreasonably strong feminism.

 

But earthly paradise was not lost, strange rules were not the boss. Many new voices emerged, Joe Rogan and other influencers entered the fray, deeming common sense choose the way.

And true feminism  and each surviving  heroine releases the girl from some historical attitudes  of objectification, skewed sexual ethics and body -image de-humanisation.

However when a younger woman encounters the modeling /movie industry and receives highly paid beauty " commodification" they become an object of fame, male / female gaze and glorification. Millions imitate and imagine their worth by buying more of the advertised wares.

This empowerment of adoring fans stifles  and twists the real growth of emotional,relational and character health of the mind/heart of the younger woman. Who sometimes becomes the female activist using the tools of beauty to more acclaim. Celebrities come and go,much activism is for ego show.

Thankfully beauty is subjectively objective. Returning to a semblance of tradition without the invective.

While some cultures in human history have extolled  male physical perfection and some  cultures hide the female form.

In Western culture the female form is deified,glorified and worshiped. We all worship that which we truly desire.

Some curse,most exclaim that the female form is truly a successfully lovely frame. As we all know,  beauty sells.

A girl receives her real worth in the process of woman becoming and truly arrives when released and transformed with power from high.

Of course i could be wrong,it could be amathia.

Inspired by essays from Sophia Gilbert,but divergent.

(by Digital Anvil)

Would you like to comment, we would thankful for your thoughts.

  

The Wokies:  (Re-Work A)

 

 A post-revolutionary movement 

  

....a delusional decade in which well- meaning activities to stop racism and sexism and ageism morphed into virtue-tanical and despostic purges and an  overkill movement to remake every aspect of Western  traditional society,politics,language and culture.

 

The remaking is the outcome-- in part--- of an attitude of interpretation of past historical events and especially outlawing values, traditions and customs exhibiting or espousing political, cultural and social norms not currently viewed as tolerable, but are irredeemably evil and repellent to an enlightened society.

However the remaking became raging extremism when women had their specific rights re- channeled by re-defintions of what exactly is a woman. Is she a he? If a man decides to become a woman just by saying it out-loud? 

By declaring.

I am on the planet,Mars just by wishing its so. Absurd ? What is Elon Musk going to say? Science and Biology was just circumvented or was it?

So everything becomes foggy when common sense does not apply. 

 

(By Digital Anvil with thanks )

Why are Worldviews Important?

Our increasingly complex and nuanced world is impacting us everyday,everywhere and at everytime.

Whether at home or out and about in the spaces and timeframes we encounter. Because what we think,do and are sets rightly or wrongly our life- journey in our world  so we need to consider our own and other worldviews.

So to enable our walk or marathonic life-journey on our rock and water planet,we mindfully consider to understand the  fundamental and superstructural  elements of  this life or reality.

As valuable cosmocitizens it requires us

to become thoughtful, discerning members of a global community we will need to be able to evaluate and critique our own society as well others. To do this well we will benefit from understanding something of the world views of others by being informed and conscious of what lies behind the messages we receive.

We need to understand our own world view if we are to know where  we stand and not be buffeted by every message we are hit with.

Tap or click the link below for more information of what is a worldview and how we analyse one or more?

More on Worldviews

( Agreed and Final Form by Digital Anvil)

( based  initially on the book: Worldviews.

Edited by Simon Smart.)

 

 Tested for Love, Fondness for Beauty 

 

Like Augustine I wonder why i took so long to grow up to appreciate the important things of the life-journey. But I'm still immature, focus on the past should never last. Future phases skipping ahead, yet to be needfully present but not just in my head.

He writes...

"Late have i loved you,beauty so old and new; late have i loved you.You were with me and i was not with you."

Confessions by Augustine of Hippo.

A  reflection:

Beautiful and so rare, the love of my life held back her share. Each day under  her sway. You with me  though I not with You. Vanished heavenward, I'm moving toward. Beauty and Love so sublime. Warm and light, ever bright. Time march on, black became white. Slender and slim, love dusted,inner sight now dim. 

Love divine, events scarred my time,

Grace and Love,both from above,

What ? What did you say?

Oh,how I would pray,  to be with you just for today.

( by Digital Anvil )

Ever A Discovery? ( Re-work)

Never stop Believing.

What ever you do, never sacrifice who you are and what you believe in to make someone else happy.

The world judges what they fear and don't understand and that therefore fashions  what they  believe in.

Presense is a great gift with time and space interlaced. Presents are objects,frozen things of love.Compassion is the love given with passion. But the greatest gift is Love Unconditional.

Any other kind of love will just fizzle!

(Opinion of Fact by Digital Anvil.)

I thank those who loved and were kind and caring when they didn't need to be

I am mentioning a group who i came to love with each passing day.

Firstly, i mention Zoe, Lila, Tash, Icy,Selena, Vicki, Tania,Leo, Alex, Wolfgang,Peter,John, Tamara, Shikira, Tj, Oscar, Tishi, Mia, Dain,Dave, Jase,Jessie,Justin, Shannon,Emily, Lex Sophia, Kaylee,Rachel,Elizabeth... there are others but i never found out their names

Plus two guardians: Susan and Mary.

But special mention goes to the young women whom i am most fond of and who won my warmest feelings:

Fiona and Ruby and most of all: ALLI.

She has extraordinary hair, smile and eyes. I hope she believes-- one day.

( Even the cherry blossom is envious)

( But the Love Eternal fills the cosmos)

Martyrdom.

At this distance of  2000 years ago, we talk airily of martyrdom. But if vou were arrested and taken under guard from your home on a journey of some weeks, to a certain, gruesome, probably prolonged and horrible death, and you could avoid it by doing one really easy thing, it would take your soul to the very limit.

(I speak of ancient times in the bloodthirsty empire of Rome.)

Yet there are women and children  not counting the men who face machetes,deadly fire and sexual torture everyday simply because they sing to an invisible God. A  Christian God not believed in by the hateful perpetrators who through extreme violence murder,maim and rape.  All In the name of their God of 'peace?'

( i speak of Sudan and Nigera today.)

Reflection by Digital Anvil.

 Peace Through Strength.

 

 

Peace is not humanity’s default setting. It is an achievement—fragile, temporary, and expensive. It exists because someone, somewhere, is willing to draw a line and enforce it.

The West did not become peaceful by rejecting strength. It became peaceful because it once understood it.

(Agreed: Digital Anvil )

Breasts and Death.

International surveys have found that women who have cosmetic breast implants commit suicide at up to three times the rate of women in the general population.

This is disturbing and surprising because we assume that cosmetic surgery is supposed to make us feel better about ourselves, not worse. Why? I believe it's because many people expect that changing their external appearance will bring about an internal change, which it cannot.

Whenever I'm wearing a shirt that I really like, I look in the mirror and think — that looks great. I feel good about wearing this shirt. But how much can I expect the shirt to deliver? It does not make me a better person.

Christian faith delivers what my shirt and cosmetic surgery cannot. Faith in Jesus is about internal change. It's about internal renewal. Jesus can deliver where externals fail. Freedom from guilt, a sense of purpose and hope for the future — these are the qualities we are all seeking.

(Agreed: Digital Anvil )

This daily- reading is from Daily Nudge by Karl Faase and Olive Tree Media.

 

The Enemies of Democracy (Part 2)

To recap: in the previous essay (Part 1), philosopher John.Stuart Mill believed that public opinion is the highest threat to democracy.

Roger Scruton,I believe,  aimed at that crucial issue to democracy.

 

To continue....

 

Roger Scruton wrote,..

'To guarantee freedom of opinion 'goes against the grain of social life, and that people may be reluctant to take, [ such risks ]  

 For in critical thinking, 'so opposing orthodoxy, you are not just questioning a belief you are opposing the social order that has been built on it.' (edited)

A current example of that is....

 

"The very deliberate campaigns of suppression conducted by pressure groups against politically unfashionable or 'incorrect' views or 'wrong' opinions." (edited)

 

Thus, for example the notion of 'naturally' systemic racism of predominantly white 'privileged' citizens, gender re- assignment or deliberate mutilation on minors who are not old enough to vote yet considered wise enough to know their own mind on their apparent sexuality to agree to such life-altering surgery, the false notion of same- sex attraction with the rise of subsequent same- sex relationships is delusional fogginess. ( edited)

These above notions are falsely promoted by a mindset that is terroristic in nature but without the violence. Instead of attempting change via normal protocols or accepted means, these pressure groups assume a kind of the ends are justified by the means attitude. This is the attitude of the terror cells' modus operandi without the apparent violence. Bully and attack until they submit, that's their remit.

 The attempts to impose a new vocabulary without consultation and demanding blind adherence and the deceitful alteration of various accepted word's meaning that implicitly, even explicitly accepts the warring campaigners' point of view only.

In conclusion,the powerfully deployed and so-called intellectual superiority exhibited by many of the various Experts and Politicians and Tech and other complicit Organisations and the Legacy Media that suppressed alternative views and free speech of dissenting sentients is manifestly unacceptable. 

 

 It was found that immediately afterward [ the news of and trending internet queries ]of first assassination attempt on the then campaigning former President Trump was "re-shaped and re-ordered " by the Google search Engine! 

Later Mark Zuckerberg confessed publicly that the Biden administration routinely had 'pressured 'Facebook to censor all kinds of alternative facts, opinions and other newsworthy information and events.

Paradoxically as it seems, the so- called "Cultural Revolution of the West"  or Culture Wars of Western nations with its attendant political ills. Was forecast by many Christian Historians, Theologians and non- Christian pundits and futurists, this state of being in the West was in fact predicted, as many state, centuries before and in conjunction with culture warriors or activists unfortunately was uniquely fulfilled.

When tradition and intellectual freedom is narrowed and ignored by forces of nihilistic darkness, chaos occurs.

The outcome of the abandonment of these traditional elements of democracy dissolves political engagement and disrupts the potential social order.

In other words,break the customs,agreed norms and normal relationship between people and society they live in, democracy falls apart. A descent into authoritarianism eventually despotism and global social unrest.

 

it is my contention that the social disorder and political unrest revealed globally in the past decades are an outworking of the left -wing politics and the globalist agenda with openly blatant organisations like the World Economic Forum, the governing bodies of the deluded EU and the misguided UN leading the fools' way. All kinds of theories are marshalled and customised by many well- meaning persons. Such is the nuanced nature and complexities of mankind's. thinkers and commentators.Almost any given event is interpreted multiple ways!

 

Thank God for God!

( Opinion by Digital Anvil)

I thank the Author, Jonathan Sumption whose essay on Democracy and its Enemies formed much of these two essays' direction. However such editing, re-shaping and re- working of these essays are mine.

Although the overall direction is derived from the above mentioned essay,my essays represent a more robustly held views not necessarily espoused in his original contribution. 

 

Post Script:

Remarkably some contend that the problems of current Western democracies are further exacerbated by deliberate fear-raising tactics of openly warring terror groups like Antifa and the like.

Interplay: Philo = Theo

Christianity gave philosophy meaning, philosophy helped give Christianity rigour.

Quote: Greg Sheridan?

Cindy's Reflections.

 Welcome to my Guest Essayist, Cindy!  

  

Cindy's Reflections 

 

Just few weeks ago, a friend and I discussed our views of capitalism and communism. 

 

My friend was a capitalism advocate, but in the past, he had seen some employers mistreating their workers and some of  the communist countries seem to enable their citizens to have a good life. As a consequence, he believes differently and changed his political views to communism.

 

I am capitalist because I was raised and educated in Taiwan, therefore I feel that capitalism is linked with liberal politics.

Of course, the nearby nation of China which is completely the political  opposite of my  home-country, I guess that situation influenced my worldview and understanding of capitalism and communism.

While this is true I recall a conversation that I had a couple of months earlier, when I was in Colombia and Mexico with some friends who live in New York, USA and Bogota, Colombia.

These friends did not know each other and have different cultural, educational and political  backgrounds as well, but they told me the cities in  which they live are not as fancy and cosmopolitan as people think or know and they are unsafe as well. My friends believe that the main reason for this assessment is their City's government is capitalist so they focus on production of goods and services and they only care for people who are useful and who contribute  economically to their country. They believe this political and economic policy makes the poor poorer and their society more dangerous, Long story short, that is what they said.

 

I understand and am sympathetic with what they said.

But as I have already stated I believe differently and I am hard working, so as opportunities abound therefore I am still a capitalist. 

However in view of the above revelations I am now unsure which political system is better?"

 

(Guest Contribution by Cindy, my friend, who kindly wrote some reflections on her discussions with friends about Capitalism and Communism. My gratitude for her thoughts and experiences)

Your comments and thoughts are most welcome. 

Have you experienced any events like the above? What are you,a communist or a capltialist? Care to comment-- why?

 

 

 

 

 Truth or ?   (Re-work B)

 The historic, early Centuries

 

Early Christians ( of the 1st,2nd and 3rd century )  had the historic task of deciding what would be admitted into the canon of Christian scripture, the Bible.

 "They looked for books ( or originally letters ) written by the Apostles to the emerging or nascent churches in the Roman empire or those who knew the Apostles, books which taught the authentic values and religious beliefs of Jesus the Christ. books which had achieved widespread acceptance among the  early church. And thev chose well because by the fourth century they had decided on what we now call the New Testament and the Christian version of the Old Testament."   Greg Sheridan. (Edited)

This above article was posted in response to so much thoughtless criticism with poorly and deliberately maimed scholarship that had occurred over the past few centuries suggesting that most of the Bible was conceived by later powerful  self- seeking church leaders who " manufactured " much of the words of Jesus and His Apostles to coerce the modern  global public with lies, half-- truths and outright fabrications in current Bibles

 The opposite is true! The detractors are the manufacturers of false information.

(By Digital Anvil)

The New Pagan or the Cosmocitizen: Which? 

 

 

 

 Jonathan Sacks was one who long ago identified the tendency in our  Western culture to ape  ancient pagan norms and practices.

 In his marvellous volume Essays on Ethics, Sacks wrote:

 

 

'In countless ways, in its focus on the body, in its emphasis on material goods and physical sports, in its prioritising of politics over personal morality as the way to change the world, in its approach to sexual ethics. abortion and euthanasia, the West today has reverted to the values and practices of pre-Christian Greece and Rome."

(Agreed: Digital Anvil)

The Bystander Effect:

Brad Hansen, in his book The Men We Need, tells a story of two young children – just 8 and 4 – who were on a sled, launched down a short hill with their parents at the top watching. To the parents’ horror the sled picked up speed, totally out of control and eventually ended in an icy pond.

Immediately, five teenage boys jumped into the freezing water and pulled the kids to safety. When asked why they did this they replied, "It’s what anyone would do".

Sadly, we know that is not true. In fact, Hansen refers to the Bystander Effect, where people stand aside and watch – waiting for others to act.

The Bible reminds us that “We are our brother’s keeper.” We ought to care. Let’s avoid the Bystander Effect.

Daily- reading by Karl Faase with thanks

(Agreed:Digital Anvil)

Understated:

While one man struggles with thoughts of death, another is remembered for his mission to conquer it.

( Opinion: Digital Anvil )

Overheard:

If you don't stand for something, you fall for everything.

(Agreed: Digital Anvil)

Enemies of Democracy (Part 1)

Enemies of Democracy? ( Part 1)

 

The threat is two- fold, some believe three-fold.

The biggest threat to democracy isn't just oppression by the State, but is coupled with the intolerance of our fellow citizens in a two- fold situation. The collaboration of these two elements that define and conform the swayed population of a nation to the destruction of its own democracy by 'internal duacide.' 

That incisive philosopher, John Stuart Mill predicted that the main threat to democracy' survival was conformity imposed by widespread public opinion.

Roger Scruton once wrote that 'the freedom to entertain and express opinions, however offensive, ....is the pre- condition of a political society.'

 

An example of this however offensive opinion is the various Western Govts' suppression of dissenting views on the efficiency, relative need and veracity of Covid- 19 anti-virus vaccines. These opposing views were crushed not only by various governmental agencies, but also by the Tech giants and by many legacy Media outlets working in concert or together. 

To enforce the prevailing view or narrative, the police forces of such nations were often coerced to operate, some posit, like the SS of the Nazis or the Stasi of East Germany to arrest and detain those who engaged in contradiction to the designated opinion or narrative. The crime- the will of the free individual(s) opposing the will of the 'locked in' society.

 

Even if the opposing views were publicly broadcast without apparent censorship, these outspoken dissenters were insulted, vilified and faced personal injury, even threats occasioning death. Some sentient dissenters were occasionally banned, had their venues revoked and hounded by threatening activists whose erroneous views could not establish any credence or validity in the face of reason and persuasive argument.

 

Even humourists were booed,publicly banned and dislodged from their perch unless their comedy was vetted by the authorities. When thoughtful satire and decent lampooning is banned, e.g., Babylon Bee, then that democratic society is dying a grueling death. It's said that to take oneself too seriously so unable to laugh at oneself is the demise of relative sanity.

This essay continues tomorrow on the Digital Anvil blog. 

Please return for the exciting conclusion of the Enemies of Democracy ( Part 2 ) tomorrow morning..

( Opinion by Digital Anvil)

Your Love is King.

Here is one of the smoothest tracks of all.

The alchemy of the restrained music with delicious vocals create an experience of: Your Love is King by Sade.

Tap or click on link below.

the Song

(Agreed: Digital Anvil)

 More or Less?

 

 

We don't need more feminism,we need more femininity.

Will this become the liet motif,  the theme for younger women everywhere?

Lets wait and believe.

(Opinion by many and Digital Anvil)

Don't Dream Its Over.

Another favourite song of mine.

By vocalist/ songwriter: Neil Finn.

Don't Dream it's Over.

By Australian / New Zealand Band: Crowded House.

Tap or click on link for song.

Don't Dream its Over

(Agreed: Digital Anvil )

Worldviews? Are we Spectators and Participants ?

 

 Worldviews?

 Are we spectators a-n-d participants? 

 

Read any eNewsletter, book or track any article process in any platform of social media and you will witness a collision of different worlds. Everyday that goes by there is a report of controversy, debate, violence, scandal and conflict between individuals and among nations. These range from minor arguments to catastrophic events.

human to human: 

 To be human involves bumping up against other humans who see the world very differently to us. No matter how hard we try to avoid it, nothing can protect us from that reality. When confronted with this in both subtle and direct ways. many of us can feel uncomfortable, threatened, afraid, anxious and perhaps angry.

This essay introduces the concept of how a view of one's life -journey may depend on one or more  highly influential systems of thought or way of looking at the world.

 Each system is the articulation of a world view. The term world view comes from the German word Weltanschauung. It is a word social commentators like to use. We may be unaware of it, but each of US has a world view. It is an important concept to grapple with in order to understand reality. 

 

worldview: what is It? 

A world view may be understood as a framework or set of fundamental beliefs through which we view the world and our place in it. This framework could be thought of as being like the frame of a house'--that is not seen, but is crucial to the Way our reality IS constructed and held together. It supports our beliefs, our actions and our plans and hopes for the future. It gives shape to our lives and creates the space in which we live and think,speak, act and dream. This frame is our frame. It might be the same as some, but is very different from others.

 

lens: our eyes have them and so do we. 

Our world view acts as the lens through which we view the world. We might not look at the lens, but we do look through it, and it will largely determine what we see in front of us. That lens can be very different for different people, and produce vastly divergent ways of understanding reality.

 

The nature of different and conflicting world views can present to us a vision of the world and reality that is distinct and very different to others.

 

 worldviews: how are they formed?

Significantly but relevant to one's way of thinking, one's worldview, is the how, when and who raised us. What and where one is taught is highly relevant and important too.

Childhood, Formal education, work-life and other accretions or layers of  beliefs make up our personal view or belief system through time.

 

random views or beliefs ? almost! 

 

Something as simple as a  catchy advertising slogan to a tome of a book can affect our personal frame of understanding or reference. 

It is my contention that most of what we believe is made up of un-appraised elements of the world around us. Almost unconsciously, snippets, lines of text, ,slices of pages, words,phrases,pictures, graphics,narrations, memes and lyrics that we embrace or reject can comprise our world view.

 Our worldview can change even with our moods ,location and who we are with daily.

I also believe that much of what we choose to believe is not necessarily logical,nor absorbed reason-ably.

Of course part of our world view is unchangeable and remains largely permanent. But when we encounter another worldview, we could clash with it and therefore alter  or harden our  belief system accordingly.

On the other hand,an innocuous, minor belief if embraced can transform one's thought system instantly with implications for the rest.

Our hormones, if followed, can instantly alter our long-held convictions. Such are our emotions which can assail or confirm our worldview on a day to day basis 

love: the ultimate agent of change.

Most significantly the most powerful  element of all-- Love can and does  truly affect our reasoning or logical worldview no matter how endearingly held. We hear of enemies becoming friends when the other is embraced or have joined forces to counter evil opposition.

If you've read up to here, thanks, I shall not labour with the main  points any further.

Perhaps you have digested the meat of my essay and agree on principle.

how do we determine a person's worldview, you may ask?

The answers that we give to these 4 questions  below provide an indication of the world view that we hold.

James Sire, who has spent decades thinking about how to describe world views suggests that world view may be discovered in the answers you and I give to four key questions

1|

Who am I? What is the nature and task of the human being?

 

2I

 Where am I? What is the nature of the world and universe  that we live in? Do I see the world and universe as personal, ordered and meaningful  or chaotic. cruel and random?

 

3I

 What's wrong? Why is it that my world appears to be not as it's supposed to be? How do I make sense of evil?

 

4I

 What is the solution? Where do I find hope for some peace, meaning and direction?

( Agreed: Edited,Reworked and Final Form by Digital Anvil )

Initially based on the book: Worldviews. Edited by Simon Smart.

The Matilda Effect:

If you are a woman or a girl,you might like to read this.

If you are a man or a boy,you should read this too.

She kept finding women in old photographs working in laboratories and listed on research teams, yet when she read the published papers those same women had vanished.

In the late nineteen sixties at Yale University, Margaret Rossiter sat in the archives surrounded by boxes of scientific records. She was researching the history of American science for her dissertation. It was supposed to be straightforward academic work, a simple tracing of discoveries and breakthroughs. But something kept unsettling her. In photograph after photograph she saw women standing at benches, working with equipment, included on laboratory rosters. Yet when she read the papers, the award citations, and the official histories, the women were gone. Their names were missing. Their contributions erased as if they had never existed.

Margaret realized she had uncovered a pattern that stretched across centuries. Women had always been present in science, but the record had quietly pushed them aside.

Born in nineteen forty four, Margaret grew up during the early years of the feminist movement. But as she read deeper into archival collections, she discovered that the problem she was witnessing was not new. Women had been doing scientific work since the earliest days of research laboratories. They had simply not been acknowledged. She found countless examples. Women who designed experiments, only to see male colleagues publish the results without giving them credit. Women whose discoveries were assigned to supervisors. Women listed in acknowledgments instead of as full authors. Women passed over for awards that went to male collaborators who contributed far less.

It was not random. It was not accidental. It was systemic.

Margaret needed a name for what she was documenting. She found it in the work of Matilda Joslyn Gage, a nineteenth century suffragist who had written about this exact pattern. Margaret called it the Matilda Effect. The term captured something that had been hidden in plain sight for generations and made the invisible visible. Once you knew the term, you saw it everywhere.

Her dissertation became a lifelong mission. Margaret spent more than thirty years researching and writing a landmark three volume series titled Women Scientists in America. She read letters, examined institutional policies, followed individual careers, and gathered evidence that proved women in science had been consistently undercredited and structurally excluded. Her work faced resistance. Many scholars dismissed women’s history as political rather than academic. Others insisted she was exaggerating bias. Margaret did not argue emotionally. She simply presented data. She showed documented cases. She showed patterns repeated across decades and institutions.

Eventually the evidence became undeniable.

Her research helped restore recognition to scientists who had been pushed out of the story. Rosalind Franklin, whose X ray work made the structure of DNA visible. Lise Meitner, who explained nuclear fission but was omitted from the Nobel Prize. Nettie Stevens, who discovered sex chromosomes but received little credit. Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin, who discovered the composition of stars but was dismissed at first. And countless other women whose names had nearly disappeared from the historical record.

Margaret changed the narrative. Science was no longer the tale of solitary male geniuses. It became a story of collaboration that included women who had been written out.

The Matilda Effect became standard terminology. Scholars used it to examine how credit is assigned, how publications list authors, who receives awards, and who is left out. Universities updated curricula. New biographies were written. Exhibits were created. Entire fields began re examining the stories they had accepted as truth.

Margaret received the Sarton Medal, the highest honor in the history of science field. More importantly, she reshaped how we understand scientific progress. She revealed that much of the history we had been taught was incomplete at best and deliberately distorted at worst.

The Matilda Effect did not end in the past. It continues today. Women scientists still receive fewer citations, fewer awards, and fewer promotions. But now the pattern has a name. Now the bias can be measured. And once a pattern is visible, it becomes harder to ignore.

Margaret Rossiter showed that women scientists had always been present. They had simply been erased. She spent fifty years bringing them back into the light. Because of her, their names are known. Because of her, the pattern cannot hide. Because of her, the story of science is finally beginning to reflect the truth.

Fun Fact: Margaret Rossiter first identified the Matilda Effect while studying forgotten letters in dusty boxes that had gone untouched for decades, proving that sometimes the most important discoveries begin with a question no one has thought to ask.

If one historian can restore the voices of generations who were written out, what else might change when we decide to tell the full story instead of the convenient one?

#WomenInScience #HiddenHistory #TruthInResearch #ScientificLegacy #VoicesRestored

Sources

Margaret Rossiter

American Historical Association

Oxford University Press

Ceasefire: Sudanese Forces Reject Plan.

Ceasefire plan for Sudan has been rejected.

International governments have called on warring Sudanese militias to negotiate a ceasefire this week, with neither side accepting a proposal led by the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) rejected the plan, partly due to the UAE’s involvement, having previously accused the country of “complicity in genocide”.

The RSF had earlier signalled it would accept the U.S/UAE plan, and said this week it would implement a ceasefire.

However, the U.S. has since said the RSF didn’t formally accept their proposal.

Background

Sudan was ruled for decades by dictator Omar al-Bashir, who faces charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. The SAF removed al-Bashir with RSF support in 2019.

Democratic elections were supposed to follow, but the SAF and RSF worked together again to overthrow the remainder of the existing government and took power in 2021.

In April 2023, the partnership fell apart, resulting in the ongoing violent conflict between the two groups.

Since then, the violence between RSF and SAF has been ongoing and has caused a humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

The UN has not provided a death toll for this conflict, though estimates put the toll as high as 150,000.

According to the World Food Programme, almost half of the country’s population – 21.2 million people – is experiencing acute food insecurity. Famine has been declared in two cities.

In July 2025, the Migration Policy Institute found the violence had forced at least 12 million people from their homes.

Genocide

Sudanese and international groups have accused the RSF of genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Genocide is defined under international law as killing members of a “national, ethnic, racial, or religious group,” or making their survival impossible.

Ethnic cleansing has been described by UN experts as removing members of an ethnic or religious group from an area “by violent or terror-inspiring means”.

This year, International Criminal Court Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameen Khan said her team is actively gathering evidence of war crimes in Sudan.

Quad plan

In September, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and the UAE proposed a ceasefire plan for Sudan.

While the exact details have not been released, the group released a statement outlining some of their ideas, including a three month truce to allow “the swift entry of humanitarian aid,” followed by a permanent ceasefire.

The statement said Sudan’s future government “is for the Sudanese people to decide... not controlled by any warring party”.

The SAF currently runs Sudan’s government, while the RSF seeks to form a new one.

Response

Earlier this month, the RSF signalled willingness to accept the ceasefire proposal, and last week said it was implementing a three month truce.

However, the RSF has continued to bomb and carry out attacks on SAF-held territory and infrastructure.

The SAF has rejected the RSF’s ‘truce’ and the proposal, calling it the “worst [plan] yet”. The SAF said the plan would “eliminate” them and keep the RSF “in its positions”.

The SAF also criticised the UAE’s involvement, repeating allegations it is supplying weapons to the RSF. The UAE has denied these allegations.

International observers have documented the movement of weapons on planes from the UAE to an airport in Chad near its border with Sudan, to RSF training camps.

In March, Sudan sued the UAE in the International Court of Justice (the ‘World Court’), alleging it provided “unlimited support” to the RSF, enabling the group to perpetrate “genocide, forcible displacement, and murder.”

The ICJ threw out Sudan’s case in May, saying that while it was “deeply concerned” by the conflict, it did not have the power to hear the case.

The UAE and Sudan have both signed the UN’s Genocide Convention, which obliges countries to prevent it and to punish those who carry it out.

One section of the convention states that countries can take disputes, “including those relating to the responsibility of a [country] for genocide,” to the ICJ.

The UAE is not party to this specific section, which meant the ICJ couldn’t hear a case where it was a defendant.

Calls to end

At a press conference last week, U.S. envoy to Africa Massad Boulos called on both sides to accept the plan in full.

Boulos is the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany.

The European Parliament also passed a motion last week calling for a ceasefire, noting “there is no viable military solution to the conflict”.

Politico reported representatives of the UAE were present at the EU Parliament negotiating the language of the motion.

Reporting by Lucy Tassell of The Daily Aus. ( TDA Newsletter) Courtesy of TDA with Thanks.

 

Has Humanity lost its way?

 

 Moments

Some of our greatest insights, aha moments or light-bulb moments come as flashes of illumination.  Others arrived after sinking in as lessons of maturity birthed 10 or 20 years prior. 

Even a few others arrive with freshly ground insight. Learned wholly with a fresh perspective on an old idea.

Any of the above insightful ways are taught in the crucible of life are valid for our experience and guidance.

 

Happiness is default rollercoaster

My happiness as does yours fluctuates for a myriad of reasons.

The world teaching is one of a broad spectrum of answers.  

However Jesus sought others and taught them while tracking slowly on a narrow dusty path.  Rarely straying  more than 100 miles from Jerusalem. 

While this may  be true, we modern men and women learn entirely differently today. Most of us learn formally at school, college and university. Some travel overseas to gain wider knowledge.  Most would agree with the statement that experience is the best way to  apply and learn. From the school of hard knocks as it were. 

Life is a progressive schooling or life- long learning. 

So it should come with little surprise  that many of us learn by having our knowledge engraved into our heart and mind. By repeating what we learned over and over again. Until the " message "  fully sinks in. We  can learn all kinds of things by rote,repetition and choice. It's been said that by personal interest is our better choice for retaining knowledge. 

Abundance from Obedience

Author Dallas Willard believes that Jesus links a broad path to a life of abundance with travelling the narrow road of obedience. If happiness were exclusively link-ed with financial abundance then Billionaires would have the greatest reason for happiness.

But as we all suspect happiness sometimes eludes the greatest, the richest, the ones with the most toys.

While watching a documentary on the slums of the Philippines I could not help observe that the very poor children were often the happier ones!

What was their secret? 

How with so little  were they able to smile, play laugh and love each other? While the obviously wealthy are subject to illness, calamity and " mental torment"

One could note that wealth didn't seem to confer happiness, at least not the freely given kind. Which it seemed the Filipinos exhibit or possess.

 It would seem the more one has the unhappier one is?  Could that be true?

Of course by that line of reasoning a middle course of happiness is achieved by not having the most nor by having the least. Can we really  be mostly happy but not ecstatically so ? If we limit our purchases or materialism, take a middle road, then we are neither greedy nor paupers. But this makes it a game.Is happiness a foolish game?

It would seem a logical conclusion. 

Not too much,not too little. 

Greater minds than mine have thought so. The ancients, particularly the Greek philosophers  thought so. The hedonistic, the stoic (and the devil sells both) supposed so. The range of thought available isn't small.

 But my mind returns to the freely happy playful children whose smiles are imprinted upon my heart.Including children of Syrian refugees in a more recently viewed documentary and in real life.Though they seemed more guarded in their play.

So little, yet so happy.

Is there a secret here to be revealed? Or have Western societies lost their way temporarily? What about the other societies,have they lost their way as well?

The Ancient of Days has revealed to us his ways. Opening his book is all it took for me a half century ago. Could knowledge equal happiness?

Could happiness be learned like knowledge?

Is happiness learned by choice?

Or is happiness always organic?

Is happiness a decision?

The foundation of Western civilization was a combination, a mix of the Judeo-Christian and Greek and Roman traditions. But I hastily add that like Paul the great Apostle states," I haven't arrived or achieved  such open, lasting perfect happiness. But i can be content."

However I haven't left the  narrow path often fraught with no easy labour, loss and suffering  climbing heaven-ward to reach the sublime. A goal that all seek,when awaken from sleep.

The Ancient of days has revealed to us his ways. All it took was one book.

Stepping Out:

 

 

 

I   Feel   Like   A   Man   Stepping   Out   Of   The   Dark   Into   A     Dream.