This week’s column steps back from the five-part Understanding MAGA series to examine the deeper themes running through it—identity, boundaries, and the quiet collapse of communication when we outsource judgment. I’m 61 now, and I’ve set a personal goal to complete my own TST Philosophy by the time I’m 70. That means the weekly column isn’t the destination; it’s the workshop. Series like this aren’t reactions to headlines—they’re part of a larger architecture I’m building slowly and deliberately. If you’ve been reading along, you’re not just following commentary. You’re watching a framework take shape.
A few more minutes for core takeaways.
This week:
Understanding MAGA.
Series are not reactions — they are architecture. When ideas are layered intentionally over time, they form a framework rather than a headline.
Here are the six core takeaways that forged the depths of this week’s column.
1.
Alfred Korzybski
Born 1879.
Lived from 1879 to 1950, aged 70
Clarity begins when we remember that our beliefs are models, not reality itself. When we hold our maps lightly — testing, refining, and revising them — we think more clearly and argue less blindly.
2.
Live legal, moral, and fair.
- Michael Alan Prestwood
- 2002
Respect the law to sustain order. Cultivate virtue to shape your character. Act fairly to weigh the real impact of your choices on others. When legality, morality, and fairness work together, flourishing becomes stable, not accidental.
3.
What does neuroscience say about “identity?”
Biologically, you’re constantly changing: cells, synapses, even memories shift. Identity is less a fixed thing and more a maintained pattern. Neuroscience shows that identity isn’t a fixed object stored in the brain. Your are constantly changing. What feels like a stable “you” is a maintained pattern: held together by memory, habits, and the story you keep updating.
4.
Why do people confuse explanations with reality?
Humility sharpens perception. When we remember that our models are lenses rather than the world itself, we become less defensive, more curious, and more capable of refinement.
5.
What is worldview humility?
Humility is not weakness; it is cognitive strength. The ability to examine the origin of your own convictions is a Socratic discipline. The understand that you live during a particular time, at a particular location, and within specific worldviews.
6.
What does history teach us about authoritarian rule?
Authoritarianism is rarely imposed all at once. It grows gradually as people trade judgment for order, responsibility for procedure, and conscience for compliance. History warns us that the most dangerous systems are not those enforced by terror alone, but those maintained by ordinary people doing what feels normal, expected, and legitimate.
That’s it. The end.