The Tyranny of the Town Square

We’re self-censoring into vanilla mediocrity, Itโ€™s destroying everything - and I do mean everything.


And when they don't, we judge competence, take it personally, make assumptions, or shut down.

Guilty as charged. Going to try harder.







๐Ÿ”— Keeping the Light On - Doc Searls - do read.

๐Ÿ–‡๏ธ Used this quote before.

There cannot be life without death, it is inescapable.

๐Ÿ’ฌ Keisei Tagami

.. and as I have said myself

death defines life.




Just pulling some history to day after reading ๐Ÿ”— Room temperature from Seth.

Stable systems regress to the mean. Things level out on their way to average, which maintains the stability of the system. The same pressures are put on any individual in our culture. Sooner or later, unless you push back, youโ€™ll end up at room temperature.

๐Ÿ–‡๏ธ Me - July 2024 - We Are Being Forced To Conform

[๐Ÿ–‡๏ธ Me - March 2025 - A post responding to @manton / @devilgate](https://john.philpin.com/2025/03/05/the-butterfly-effect-is-real.html)

๐Ÿ–‡๏ธ Mantonโ€™s Original Post




๐Ÿ”— Is Trump Going to Start a World War? Or, the Price Americans Will Pay For One

โ€”

Itโ€™s one thing to say: America canโ€™t be depended on anymore to be a friend and ally. Itโ€™s another to say: America canโ€™t be trusted not to invade, conquer, or control you. These are different levels of breakdown in relationships. The first is a lack of trust. But the second is a breach and betrayal.

โ€”

Even with all its guns and bombs, can America conquer the entire world? Of course not. In the end, the world will win this foolish game, and America must lose. That is where this roadย begins. Where it ends is with the world demanding that America, in the end, make good for the harm it is doing now, and will continue to do. And the world has the power to enforce that, too, because of course, it owns Americaโ€™s debt. In this way, too, impoverishment beckons for Americans.

๐Ÿ–‡๏ธ I have remarked on this before.


Here are less obvious ones. The EU retaliates not militarily, but financially. It goes nuclear, and dumps its US assets, from stocks to bonds. Bang. There go Americaโ€™s 401Ks. China joins it, and things go from bad to worse. And of course, because they donโ€™t want to be left holding assets worth pennies on the dollar, Japan and the Arab states race in, too. The stakes now are stark and severe. I donโ€™t think that Americans, at least many of them, fully grasp where they are.





Its Decision Time

Navigating the natural conflict between disruption and patience is essential. Responding to each at the right time is one of lifeโ€™s greatest challenges.