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America’s Brain Loss: Its Cause And Cure

Posted: Mon May 09, 2016 2:01 pm
by notmartha
Ben Williams' latest newsletter is posted. It is a "don't miss!"

AMERICA’S BRAIN LOSS: ITS CAUSE AND CURE
THE WAR FOR YOUR MIND

Sanity should not be taken for granted. It is not the norm nowadays ..... if it ever was. The mind, like the physical frame of a man, must be exercised and nurtured if it is to develop and function correctly. A”sound mind” is a
valuable piece of equipment and it requires diligent maintenance. Mental/spiritual health doesn't just happen
by itself, and it doesn't automatically maintain itself.

This is a concern in today's environment because our minds are being invaded systematically. The assaults come from all sides: from advertising to public schooling, from peer pressure to politics, from entertainment to religion. Americans are being dumbed down ..... unable to think their own thoughts.
Download the complete newsletter here:

http://benwilliamslibrary.com/pdfs/st16-5&6.pdf

Re: America’s Brain Loss: Its Cause And Cure

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 12:59 pm
by Firestarter
I think there’s a real difference in reading a good or weak book.
In my opinion by far the best American author is Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck: http://nisbah.com/summer_reading/grapes ... nbeck2.pdf

Re: America’s Brain Loss: Its Cause And Cure

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 2:02 pm
by notmartha
Firestarter wrote:I think there’s a real difference in reading a good or weak book.
In my opinion by far the best American author is Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck: http://nisbah.com/summer_reading/grapes ... nbeck2.pdf
I've read many of Steinbeck's books, including Grapes of Wrath, and agree that he is an excellent writer. I like to read books written by those with opposing worldviews (he was a leftist agnostic and proponent of the New Deal) and it is no wonder why his works were/are required reading in statist public schools. I gave my children Steinbeck to read after they developed their own worldviews, could think critically, and identify propaganda techniques. Problem with most public school children (and many homeschooled children) is that they have not been taught these skills, so the wars against their minds are easy ones to win.

What do you like best about his books?

Re: America’s Brain Loss: Its Cause And Cure

Posted: Wed May 11, 2016 5:04 am
by editor
I've given a lot of thought lately to which books have been most influential in my life. There are so many, and I could name the usual ones most people would expect (the Bible, Atlas Shrugged, Unintended Consequences, etc., etc.), but I've settled on one I'll bet you'd never expect:

Looking Out For #1, by Robert Ringer

I read that book way back in around 1979, and it changed my life-- it had more of a positive influence on me than anything else I've read, and I really read a lot.

I noticed recently Ringer re-wrote the book, and it's quite a bit different than the version I read originally. So I just read the latest version which is available as an ebook. If I remember correctly, some of the parts that were my favorites in the original version, didn't get quite as much attention in the new one. However, I found the new version to be quite valuable and satisfying overall.

There are a few points Ringer makes with which I don't completely agree. However, the way I look at, and deal with relationships all around me, from friends to family to business, can best be described by reading this book. It is an island of sanity in a world of chaos.

Liberals, progressives, and Absolute Moralists should all prepare to be deeply offended.

Re: America’s Brain Loss: Its Cause And Cure

Posted: Wed May 11, 2016 2:01 pm
by notmartha
editor wrote:I've settled on one I'll bet you'd never expect
Yep, I'd never expect that one! :lol:

I've seen it and passed it over, thinking it was just another self-love book to foment more of the “I deserve it” narcissism psychosis. Prime example of "can't judge a book by it's cover" I suppose. I'll give it a try.

I don't think I could narrow down my "most influential book" to one choice. Different books highly influenced different aspects of my life.

Re: America’s Brain Loss: Its Cause And Cure

Posted: Thu May 12, 2016 2:51 am
by editor
Looking Out For #1 is an unexpected jewel. It deals with having realistic expectations, and is very much about paying your way in life. In other words, get used to the idea that the world does not owe you a living; that no one owes you anything, and if you want people to deal with you, then you'd better expect to give them equal value for everything you receive. Ringer tells you how to find happiness, then shows you it's going to be a lot of work to get it and keep it. Everyone should read this book. Put it on your gift list for new high school graduates. It's an even better choice than Richest Man in Babylon.

I also think Ringer's book Winning Through Intimidation is very good, although his head was in a bit of a cynical place when he wrote it. Still, it contains stories and examples I think of regularly to this day.

Re: America’s Brain Loss: Its Cause And Cure

Posted: Thu May 12, 2016 12:35 pm
by notmartha
I've thought this over, and while I still can't decide what book (other than the Bible) had the greatest impact on my life, I can tell you what had the worst impact on my life - U.C.C.

Re: America’s Brain Loss: Its Cause And Cure

Posted: Fri May 13, 2016 1:57 pm
by Firestarter
The best I like about Steinbeck is his original view on economics. I didn’t succeed in finding in which book he wrote something about the invention of canned pineapples. It went something like, after the public was convinced canned pineapples are much easier (I agree), they made sure the farmers got a low price for their goods, while the canned products of the big fruit corporations were sold expensively.
It is very hard to find the books of Steinbeck here in the Netherlands, most of them I bought second hand. My favourite authors by the way are: Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Hermann Hesse and Fjodr Dostojevski. Hugo and Zola fled to England (the Dreyfus affair is interesting in its own rights), Hermann Hesse fled to Switserland during WW II and Dostojevski was even punished to death (only in the last minute this was changed to hard labour). The books of Hugo, Zola and Hesse are about as difficult to acquire as those of Steinbeck.
As far as religious/philosophy books go the Tao Te Tjing is my favourite: http://www.with.org/tao_te_ching_en.pdf
Words of truth are not pleasing. Pleasing words are not truthful. The wise one does not argue. He who argues is not wise. A wise man of Tao knows the subtle truth, And may not be learned. A learned person is knowledgeable but may not know the subtle truth of Tao. A saint does not possess and accumulate surplus for personal desire. The more he helps others, the richer his life becomes. The more he gives to others, the more he gets in return. The Tao of Nature benefits and does not harm. The Way of a saint is to act naturally without contention.