In Egypt, Not The Army I Expected

The most striking thing about the amazing events in Egypt has to be the behavior of the army. I'm so used to armies, especially in autocratic countries, being reactionary, tools of the government, instantly seeking to impose martial law, etc. Yet in Egypt right now the army, while not actually fighting for the public, is providing cover for them and even advancing on the police, on occasion. It's quite an amazing thing to contemplate and to me makes it much more likely for Mubarak to resign -- how can he remain president with so little power over his country?

Obama: A Human Being.

A very quick thought on Obama and the Jared Loughner shooting. My impression is that the speech Obama gave on the shooting, besides consoling the country, can have some positive effect for Obama himself. Because it is so civil, so non-partisan, so full of intelligence and genuinely tries to wrestle with the tragedy the way many people are wrestling with it, the speech can remind the public, conservatives included, that Obama is not some far-left inhuman monster. That he is a human being like them and that maybe the picture that has been painted of him these last two years is just wrong. Going forward, the image of the president as reasonable leader, who is liberal, but not out to ruin the country, will hopefully re-emerge. Actually, now that I think about it. With these last two months of accomplishment, this has already begun.

Meaning vs. Experience

A nice explanation (from an astrophysicist of all people) of a Joseph Campbell quote I read long ago: "People don't want the meaning of life, they want the experience of life." This has always been one of the central truths in life that I can see. From the article:

Spirituality, at its best, points us away from easy codifications when it shows us how to immerse ourselves in the simple, inescapable act of being. Science at its root is also an expression of reverence and awe for the endless varied, resonantly beautiful experience we can find ourselves immersed in. So knowing the meaning of life as encoded in a religious creed on a page or an equation on a blackboard is not the issue. A deeper, richer experience of this one life: that is the issue!

So, can we stop thinking that discussions about science and religion have to focus on who has the best set of facts?

The Campbell quote is in the article. It's nice to see somebody mention him. He doesn't get enough recognition, in my opinion.

We don't know the facts yet.

This is the first post in quite a while. A lot of people have been reacting to tragic shooting of Congresswoman Giffords by pointing out the language of violence coming from the right for the past year or more. While I agree that it's reckless and the Limbaugh's and Palin's of the world don't seem to have any idea the kind of atmosphere they are creating, it's not clear how much Loughner was influenced by that atmosphere. From some of what we know he there are both right and left wing ideas in his life, and a former classmate knew him as "pretty left wing". We don't know the facts and my feeling is that some of the reactions are just a touch jumping to conclusions.