Funfare for the Common Man

This is part 5 (of 10) of my August 2020 Challenge. We’re at the halfway point. I am trying to fit all of my posts into the context of a broader narrative. In other words, that is an unnecessarily pretentious way of saying I hope they all link together, in a way.  Yesterday was Part 1: Embracing the wilderness. For some context, you may to read that post if you haven’t already. There is a very tenuous link to this post. Very . Part 2: Tolerance in a post-truth society: where do we draw the line? Natalia said that she ‘wanted to ask [me] to write smth on the issue of tolerance in the context of post-truth society (where do we draw the line and stuff)’ and I thought this was a great opportunity to make a tenuous link between this and being out in the wild. (why not?) This is a fascinating yet troubling area to grapple with, one that is often on my mind. In fact, it was on my mind a lot last week. When you’re out in nature wandering (and wondering), your mind also tends to wander (an...

“Having lived long, I have experienced many Instances of being oblig'd, by better Information or fuller Consideration, to change Opinions even on important Subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that the older I grow the more apt I am to doubt my own Judgment, and to pay more Respect to the Judgment of others. The Opinions I have had of its Errors, I sacrifice to the Public Good.” (Benjamin Franklin, in his final remarks at the United States Constitutional Convention, 1787) Even though Franklin disagreed with much of the Constitution, he put his full support behind it. He realised in his advanced years, having accumulated over 80 years of wisdom, listening to others with an open mind, and not trusting too much in his own genius, that there were far greater considerations for the fledgling country than merely his own views. Benjamin Franklin is one of his history’s great statesmen. His autobiography is one of the most illuminating and r...