Sometimes it seems there isn't a corner of life not overburdened with rules. Some are probably necessary - Sammy Hagar still can't drive 55, after all, even though in many places he can get an extra ten to fifteen miles per hour. He must be that guy driving slowly in the left lane! Games need…
The Arrogance of American Imperialism
This is a brief description of how American Imperialism works: It is not a pretty thing at all. America decides she needs something from another country. That country isn't particularly interested in giving us what we want, so American finds a pretext to invade militarily. We invaded Iraq because we lied and said there were…
Things I Don’t Understand
Admittedly, there are many things I don't understand. Today I received an email from the good folks at Meetup.com that informed me there are still people who play Dungeons and Dragons. Back when the game first came out, people so struggled to distinguish the game from reality that they would kill themselves believing they could…
Juneteenth Smoke and Mirrors
Don't you see that it's not what it seems? I don't want to take away from anybody's celebration, but they gave you nothing and convinced you it was something. Then you lined up behind Biden as he signed the bill making Juneteenth a Federal Holiday into law. We have a Congress that can't pass anything,…
Original Sin
Funny how Original Sin, a dismal doctrine that suddenly appeared from the quill of Augustine in the fourth century as he tried to explain away his own compulsive sexual behavior, really is a lot more about original blame. Even today, humans seem obsessed with guilt and blame. From mass shootings to weather events to viruses,…
The Heart Will Never Love…
what the mind cannot accept. That's a paraphrase of retired Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong. When I first heard the idea a few decades ago, I wasn't sure that I agreed with it. Now I know that I do agree with it wholeheartedly. Whenever I hear someone offer a nonsensical reason for a well understood…
Breasts
Women have breasts. Bartam Trail High School in Florida apparently is either surprised by that fact or believes that students haven't discovered it yet. They feel compelled to keep breasts under wraps, and so have edited eighty yearbook photos to remove all traces of cleavage. I would hasten that no boy's picture was edited for…
Holding our breath until we turn blue
There are a number of spiritual practices across traditions that are still based in a pre-scientific worldview. Consider fasting. Fasting was thought to clear our minds so we could hear from God. If we fasted long enough we would see things and hear things that we otherwise wouldn't. Fasting is rooted in the Greek belief…
How the Therapeutic Community Fails Sexual Assault Survivors.
I recognize that nobody is going to nominate me for the annual person of the year award in the above mentioned community, but I am good with that. I will just put something else in the spot on my shelf that I had reserved for that award. The truth is that while the immediate therapeutic…
Logical Consistency
It's almost always a good idea to be logically consistent. When we forget that we almost always head down an ill advised path. We hear countries talk about going to war to achieve or preserve peace. For reasons that I can't begin to comprehend, that makes sense to some people, yet we don't hear about…
Craig Bergland 