GOOD LIFE? HOW LIVING IT HONORS THE PAST

A good life, living a good life, is a worthy goal. Give it a try if you haven’t already.

It sets an example for those still working out right from wrong.

When you talk about living that life to people who ought to know right from wrong based on their age and experience, and they act confused, be prepared.

Talk the good talk to them. If they respond with new words and ideas cribbed from Fox News or a Trump speech, keep working.

They may not ask for help, but they’re also not asking you to dump on them for expressing their new interests.

Too many people think of the past and believe it all starts with the year they were born.

What I know for certain is that there was a world of history before I was born. Before you were born, too.

The biggest shock is learning about a history, a past, that was here before mankind evolved up the chain. This is a tough ask for the science-denier friends and family.

“What kind of idiot do you take me for? History before humans. I call bullish#t.”

What happens next depends on how well and how long you’ve known these people.

You could break out a picture of the Grand Canyon and talk about the layers of history represented by each distinct line in the canyon walls.

Historical Geology In The Grand Canyon

Supai Group:

View of the Supai Group from along the Bright Angel Trail on the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. 275-320 million years old.

First signs of human:

Fossils and DNA suggest people looking like us, anatomically modern Homo sapiens, evolved around 300,000 years ago. Surprisingly, archaeology – tools, artefacts, cave art – suggest that complex technology and cultures, “behavioural modernity”, evolved more recently: 50,000-65,000 years ago.

From this data my conclusions are that rocks are older than human habitation.

On the other hand, there are some backward people today who seem to have rocks for brains. Old rocks.

They’re not trying to live a good life on purpose.

Good Life Education

So far we know that mankind was not here before the earth formed.

If your spiritual guide says otherwise, take it with a big grain of salt. They’ve got their job, you’ve got yours

Chances are pretty good that the earth was not created in six days, then a day of rest to finish a hard week’s work.

Of course, modern culture didn’t take millions of years to develop either.

This is where things get a little dicey on BoomerPdx. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

We, you and I and everyone else, including rock-headed politicians dumbing down everything for votes, we all live in a post-WWII era.

To complicate things, we’re currently living in a post-Iron Curtain era that ended in 1989.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 paved the way for the reunification of Germany and reunification of Europe after more than 40 years of political and economic division between the West and the East.

There were winners and losers, but also agreement.

Today those agreements are strained.

A man who ought to know better is trying to rewrite history.

Settled History For A Good Life

Russian Prime Minister/President/Dictator Владимир Путин, aka Vladimir Putin, wants to leave his mark on world history.

But instead of improving his world, he stirs the pot to reclaim the former greatness of the Soviet Union of his youth.

Russia has long resisted Ukraine’s move towards European institutions, both Nato and the EU. Now, Mr Putin has claimed Ukraine is a puppet of the West and was never a proper state anyway.

It appears he wants his name to be as exalted as Stalin.

Competing with Stalin will leave a stain on anyone who tries.

According to “The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror Famine,” around 14.5 million people died of starvation in the Great Famine of 1932-33, also known as Holodomor. Estimates of the number of dead vary widely, but it’s generally agreed that millions perished — Ukraine and Kazakhstan were especially hit hard. And unlike other famines where drought was the main cause, it was Stalin’s policies toward industrialization and away from small farm food production that contributed to this disaster.

Instigating Disaster For Others Is No Part Of A Good Life

My travel experience doesn’t include active war zones, but I’ve been in London and Paris and Barcelona.

I’ve been a keen observer of documentaries that show war’s destruction.

The German bombers tested new tactics on Barcelona. With that practice they bombed civilians during the London Blitz. Then Berlin was shattered at the end of WWII.

Could it ever happen again? Has it ever stopped? Aleppo, Syria looks too much like every bombed to hell and back city from any era.

With Ukraine lined up on the bad actor’s schedule, will it look any different?

My educational experience includes the Origins of WWI and the effect of Unconditional Surrender demands during WWII, on the path to an American History degree.

I get chaffed hearing a former U.S. president suck up to the Russian leader, behaving like a lap dog in his presence, and calling their move into Ukraine genius, a savvy move.

What’s worse is wondering how Trump’s words will settle on his American followers.

Try this: Compare the reaction to the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol to what happened to people who participated in Tiananmen Square, or disagree with Putin

“Despite a surprisingly poor track record thus far, Novichok is an effective, deadly poison that has the added benefit of everyone knowing Vladimir Putin wants you dead,” one NATO intelligence official told Insider.

What kind of person wants to send such a message? After all one man can’t poison everybody, can they?

History books have that answer, which is why it’s a bad idea to burn books.

What kind of leaders encourage book burning? What kind of political party burns books to erase uncomfortable history?

We have that answer too.