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David McElroy

making sense of a dysfunctional culture

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AUDIO: We rarely realize we’re wasting our lives ’til it’s too late

By David McElroy · October 25, 2021

For a few weeks now, I’ve been thinking a lot about some simple questions.

What does it mean to waste your life?

And if you discover you really are wasting your life, what do you do about it?

I’ve known that I wanted to talk about this for awhile — ever since I saw an odd exhortation on a church sign near my house. It said, “Please don’t waste your life.” I didn’t disagree with the sentiments of the sign — although I’m unclear what their context was — but I started thinking about how few people even realize their lives are wasted until it’s too late.

That led me to thinking about my own life — and how my thoughts about a life worth living have changed over the years. But I wasn’t really ready to talk about it until I passed a house near my office Monday afternoon and saw a front yard with two two adult-size chairs and one child-size chair.

Then I knew how I wanted to conclude this. Maybe it won’t apply to you, but it feels true for me.

Tap or click below to listen. And please forgive the train in the distance at the end. I’m not really worrying about avoiding such sounds anymore. Keep Reading

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In dysfunctional modern culture, porn defines ‘normal’ for millions

By David McElroy · October 21, 2021

I’m on the losing side of a bitter culture war. The hip postmodern folks won. The people they called prudes and squares — people like me — were the ones who lost.

The cool people don’t believe life has meaning or purpose. They don’t believe we came from anywhere or that we’re going anyplace. They say a person’s only real goals are pleasure and self-gratification.

If it feels good, do it. That’s their motto.

Of all the damaging effects of their sloppy thinking and slipshod ideas, it seems as though the worst have come from the mad rush to disconnect sex from love — and from the eagerness to unleash porn on immature and lustful people.

It’s not popular to talk about voluntary limits. Most people don’t want to see what these ideas are doing to those around them. They just want to laugh at the prudes who are dumb enough to disapprove. They don’t want to see the collateral damage of what they’re doing.

But if you look at the filth and degradation that are inside the minds of many millions of people today — and if you can see the damage they’re doing to themselves — you’ll see that this massive culture change has done serious damage that can never be undone.

The culture as a whole is doomed, but you can still decide whether this will affect you — or your children.

Keep Reading

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Let’s try a candid conversation just for the few who want to hear

By David McElroy · October 14, 2021

Most of you shouldn’t waste your time listening to this. It’s not for everybody. It would bore most of you.

In Hermann Hesse’s great early 20th century novel, “Steppenwolf,” the protagonist, Harry Haller, encounters a strange place with a sign out front which says, “Magic theater. Entrance not for everybody. For madmen only.”

I feel almost like attaching such a sign here, because what I’m posting tonight is not for everybody. But for the few with the madness to want to go down this rabbit hole, I’ll offer it to everybody once — with a warning.

I’m recording something with no script or plan. It would bore most people. Honest. But I hope the right people might find it — maybe you — and somehow connect with me because of where this continuing conversation could lead. If you think there’s some madness about you that might eventually connect with the “magic theater” in my mind, enter by tapping or clicking below.

It’s really not for everybody.

Keep Reading

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This was the sunset I saw from the parking lot out This was the sunset I saw from the parking lot outside of the Walmart near my house just after the sun went down Friday evening.
This little parody was inspired by my trip to buy This little parody was inspired by my trip to buy gas a little while ago. Even at a no-name brand, the price was $4.09. If I remember correctly, it was $2.29 a gallon at the same station on the day the war started. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of winning. 🤣
For the best and most sophisticated in lawn care, For the best and most sophisticated in lawn care, check out the sponsor of one of my upcoming YouTube video episodes. 🙃 #parody #threestooges
Have you felt as though you’re living through Grou Have you felt as though you’re living through Groundhog Day lately? Me, too. Here’s a quick-and-dirty political satire I made this evening for fun and stress relief.
About three minutes before sunrise, vibrant color About three minutes before sunrise, vibrant color is poking through the skies to the east of my back yard.
The lights and color might have been more spectacu The lights and color might have been more spectacular a couple of minutes before this, but this was the best view I had of the Monday afternoon sunset from a bridge over I-20 in Moody, Ala.
I just remembered this shot I got a couple of hour I just remembered this shot I got a couple of hours ago of the fading sunset while I was in the Publix parking lot on the way home. If you suddenly find yourself craving Arby’s or Wendy’s, blame the giant icons in the sky, not me. 😃 (BTW, this was with the iPhone’s 8X telephoto lens.) #nature #naturephotography #sunset #birmingham #alabama
I had just pulled into a parking lot Friday night I had just pulled into a parking lot Friday night and was watching traffic through the distortion of the gently falling rain on my car window when I realized that the abstract view I had matched the way I was feeling tonight, so I turned it into a brief abstract video to match my mood.
Get ready for the next great animated Christmas cl Get ready for the next great animated Christmas classic, featuring singing and dancing and danger from Alex, Oliver and Sam. Coming soon to a theater near you. (The funniest part is that if I cared about this as anything more than a Christmas joke, it strikes me as something that could be profitable with the right story development and the right animators.)
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Critter Instagram

From the CritterCam: I just checked the camera to From the CritterCam: I just checked the camera to find Alex leaning into Oliver so he could get some grooming from his gray brother before settling in to nap with him.
When I got home a few minutes ago, Alex was sleepi When I got home a few minutes ago, Alex was sleeping on the top level of the castle. You can tell how dark the room was from how huge his pupils are here.
It’s only 6:30 a.m., but Oliver is already hard at It’s only 6:30 a.m., but Oliver is already hard at work on his Neighborhood Watch duties. The morning shift can be grueling, especially since the school bus is due to come down the street in just a few minutes.
Alex can’t wait any longer. Right at 2 a.m., he’s Alex can’t wait any longer. Right at 2 a.m., he’s going to sleep instead of waiting for me to finish my work.
It’s after 4 a.m. and Sam is still hanging out wit It’s after 4 a.m. and Sam is still hanging out with me in the bedroom. Alex and Oliver are already asleep in the office. It’s unusual for this little former feral to be the one continuing to keep me company when the others have already left the room.
I’ve been on the phone for the last couple of hour I’ve been on the phone for the last couple of hours and the house was completely quiet when I ended the call. I discovered all three of the cats sound asleep in the office. Alex woke up enough to see if I was bringing anything for him, but neither Oliver nor Sam even stirred.
For a long time, Sam found it impossible to relax For a long time, Sam found it impossible to relax like this in my arms. Even now, he would rather lie on the bed than on me, but it’s satisfying to see him learn to trust me enough to stretch out and relax. I’ve had a few feral cats in the past who never got even this far on the road to complete trust.
When I got back home just after 1 a.m., I found th When I got back home just after 1 a.m., I found that Alex hadn’t waited up for me. He roused himself just enough to give this enormous yawn and then he was back to sleep. It’s a good thing I know he isn’t going to use those teeth on me. He could be dangerous.
I just caught Sam spying on me from across the roo I just caught Sam spying on me from across the room as he peeks over the edge of the bed.
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We are ruled by the dumbest and most incompetent people among us — and we have a system which allows stupid and irresponsible people to force the costs of their idiocy onto smarter and wiser people. Can we get away with that? Yes, for quite some time. But we eventually reach a point at which the dumbest of the dumb — who are habitual liars and mentally ill fools — lead us to the disasters and destruction that some of us have seen coming for years. We are approaching that point. And yet most of the idiots around us still wave their rhetorical banners of support for the evil people who are leading us to ruin — and all of them point their fingers at someone else, never noticing that their own enthusiastic support of evil is to blame. When things finally fall apart, blame yourself for your blindness to the evil, not whoever happens to be in power when it happens.

I’ve been making some changes to the site lately and there are more changes coming in the days ahead, so don’t be surprised if you some small differences. This is not a wholesale redesign, but rather the addition of some features. Since they’re smarter than I am, I’ve put Oliver and Alex in charge of the technical work, which you can see in this action photo from the control room of our media complex. I recently added a series of landing pages for readers who randomly discover the site from an Internet search. I’ve also changed the YouTube link at the top of the page to go to the new YouTube channel for video essays that reflect things I’ve already published here. (Here’s a little bit about both of the YouTube channels I’m working on.) In addition, I’m trying to move away from using Instagram, so I’m experimenting with photo plug-ins that will eventually allow me to host the pictures — cats, dogs, sunsets, whatever — that I often take. So don’t be surprised to see more changes. Thanks for your patience. Let’s hope Alex and Oliver know what they’re doing.

I have no use for the theocratic and repressive government of Iran. The people who run the country are cruel at best and evil at worst. The Iranian people deserve freedom. But I have no personal quarrel with anybody in Iran. While I’m not thrilled about a future Iranian government having nuclear weapons, I’m just as concerned about nukes in the hands of politicians in Israel, Pakistan, India, China and Russia. I’m not even thrilled with the U.S., Britain and France having them, either, because I don’t trust any politicians to be responsible with such terrible weapons. All I can say with certainty is that American taxpayers have no business attacking Iran, especially since we’re being forced to pay for this attack in order to benefit the politicians of Israel — and nobody else. If Middle Eastern countries want to fight among themselves, that’s none of my business. It’s not the business of the U.S. government, either. I have no quarrel with anybody in Iran — and having the government which claims to represent me launch an unprovoked attack against a sovereign country will only make all Americans less safe in the near future. This attack is poorly conceived and morally unjustified. Remember that when the Iranians launch attacks that we will then condemn as “terrorism.” What the U.S. is doing right now looks like terrorism to me. And let’s not forget that the attack is the latest in a long line of unconstitutional wars by various U.S. presidents — who have no legal power to declare war on their own, according to the U.S. Constitution.

A child having a tantrum understands only one thing: Did I get my way or not? He doesn’t understand the issues involved. He doesn’t understand the reasons that went into a decision. He doesn’t understand any of the things that mature and reasonable adults have to understand in order to live healthy lives. By his reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to strike down his disastrous tariff scheme, Donald Trump shows himself to be — once more — a screaming child having a tantrum. Outside the world of mob bosses who expect to get their way every time, normal adults don’t act this way, but Trump isn’t normal. He’s an angry and vengeful man who has narcissistic personality disorder. And we are in danger as a result. Trump doesn’t understand the legal issues involved in this ruling. He doesn’t understand economics. He doesn’t understand rule of law. He doesn’t understand that he can ever be wrong. All he understands is that he didn’t get his way. And he is now a narcissistic and raging little boy who also happens to hold life-and-death power over most humans on this planet. He’s dangerous — and the system which gives him that power is even more dangerous.

Is it an attempt to blur the gender line between men and women? Or is it some weird tribute to the traditional Scottish kilt? It’s hard to say, but fashion designers keep pushing for men to wear skirts in the last few years. Both men and women in modern fashion seem oddly androgynous, as though it would be offensive for a man to look manly or for a woman to look feminine. A CNN article about the latest fashions from Paris caught my attention Monday and left me wondering about the ugly clothes the designers are hawking. If a man wants to wear a skirt — or a kilt — that’s OK with me, but I’ll stick with a traditional dark suit with a white shirt and tie. (Well, when I’m not wearing t-shirts and sweats, of course.) I always wonder who actually buys the outlandish garb from fashion designers anyway. I would be humiliated to be seen in any of this stuff, but I obviously have no sense of high fashion.

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