1. rule of law (<–especially this one!), and specifically the constitution
2. equality of all people
3. separation of powers across governmental branches
4. laws govern the people in government (see #1)
5. the citizens’ right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
6. freedom from tyranny
7. voting
8. separation of church & state
9. trial by jury
10. no taxation without representation

My newest favorite principle is habeas corpus. From Wikipedia:

A writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum is a court order addressed to a prison official (or other custodian) ordering that a prisoner be brought before the court so that the court can determine whether that person is serving a lawful sentence or should be released from custody. …

Albert Venn Dicey wrote that the Habeas Corpus Acts “declare no principle and define no rights, but they are for practical purposes worth a hundred constitutional articles guaranteeing individual liberty.”

I love practical things that help us live up to our ideals.

Another ideal that I’m pondering is something on the order of “we’re good guys” or “don’t be evil.” But that doesn’t really show up anywhere in the declaration or the constitution (or, if it does, I haven’t found it). Is it an American ideal to be good guys (or THE good guys)? Is that part of what the framers had in mind? I’m no longer sure. I hope so.

My greatest fear for this country is that we stop striving for these ideals. If that were to happen, then the concept of America would end.

Now is the time to talk about ideals, to renew our commitment to principles that we jointly believe in, and to subordinate powerful people to the laws that govern our government.

“A new moral hunger is growing” — Katherine Fulton

“Raise your angle of view” — Philippe Starck

“I am shit” — also Philippe Starck, mid-rant about barbarians, and pronounced “sheet”

“We’re less violent than we used to be” — Steven Pinker

“Animated graphics can make a difference” — Hans Rosling”

“Simple is best” — Murray Gell-Mann

“What little boring things are you willing to do every day?” — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

“I’m scared.” — John Doerr

“lexicographically” — Erin McKean

“Things should be as simple as possible, but not simpler” — Einstein (Ok, he wasn’t there. But it was mentioned and is still relevant.)

“I was there as myself” — Maira Kalman

“You look great in that uniform” — Deborah Scranton

“Passion lives here” — Isabel Allende

“I don’t make old people noises” — Sophia Loren (also not there, but mentioned and always relevant)

“Learn as if you will live forever” — Benjamin Dunlap

I came back and immediately  reported for Jury Duty. Jury selection took three days. More than seventy people were in the jury pool, and by the time we were done seating the jury, only 8 were leftover. That means more than 50 were interviewed and let go for one reason or another. I was the last one. I should have been let go.

It was a prostitution trial, and I have a schizophrenic sister who has been on and off the street for 20+ years, and I assume that she’s done a lot of prostitution in that time. She was last arrested for trying to light my mother’s hair on fire, but that’s another story. Because of Julie (my sister) I’ve thought a lot about life on the street as a drug user, homeless person, prostitute. My feelings are complicated.

Jury selection took 3 days. The trial took 2 hours and consisted of only one witness (a cop) and a tape recording in which the defendant wasn’t named. Deliberations took two days. We found her guilty.

The cross-section of humanity — from humbling masterworks of science, art, culture to the mundane brutality of life in the gutter. By the end of the trial I could barely maintain a conversation, there was so much to process. I’m still at a loss.

From her book Magical Secrets About Thinking Creatively, these are the Magical Secrets:

Cultivate sensuality
(Discovering the details of the physicality of materials)

Use a lot of time
(Taking enough time for what you are doing, and being aware that you’ve embarked on a life-long pursuit)

Get into the flow
(Encouraging a mental shift called flow that has a connection to creativity)

Have an idea
(Thinking about what you are doing)

Don’t know what you want
(Cultivating an inquiring an inquiring, open mind)

Know what you don’t want
(Understanding what others have done and how not to repeat it)

Stick your neck out
(Going against prevailing attitudes if you feel like it)

Use every tool
(Using new tools as needed without throwing out the old ones)

Become skillful
(Knowing when you need to develop skill and when you can use the skill of others)

Take yourself lightly
(Having a sense of humor and not seeing yourself at the center of the universe)

Go into the ether
(Letting yourself slip into another world from time to time)

Own it
(Knowing that you are doing what you should be doing)

(Thanks to kate for passing it along.)

—jeremy

pollyanna
political
liberal
patriotic
pro-choice
passionate
focused
selectively irresponsible
thin-skinned
smart
aging
loud
quick with opinions
quick to anger
quick to let go
hard on myself
forgiving of others
cheap drunk
moody
hard working

That’s a lousy reason to have Things. So I got rid of them.

Purging was an exercise in self-knowledge: If I need books as proof that I’m worthy, then I must not be. If I want to know what’s really there, I need to scrape off the goo.

The remaining hundred or so books are either Inspiring (Sugimoto monograph), Spiritually Enriching (Quaker Reader), Helpful (Mayo Clinic on Depression), or Pulp (Hiaasen). They’re books that I return to either frequently or significantly.

My home now feels more honest and more interesting to ME than it was.

People like Kate & Bryan are more genuine in their Hoarding of books (pun intended). They turn to their vast and diverse collection frequently and significantly. That’s different than my vast, diverse collection, which served not to enrich me but to cover for a threadbare ego.