Frozen Toothpaste

mrpattersonsir
Everywhere you look, especially as a teenager, the world is full of others. Of people “not like me.” And though teenagers feel this most intensely, few do not feel it regularly.
Just look at the latent antipathy that exists in this country toward Iranians. Or Arabs. Or Mexicans. Or even the French.
Surely these people are different […]

I’ve long been seeking one thing — a song, a poem, a quotation, even a book — that once found will magically save all people — save them from their greed, their fear, and their unnecessary antipathy for one another.
One day I met my anti-prophet, who told me this:
I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t exist, it can’t exist, and […]

I’m not even sure where I first heard the term “Professional Human Beings,” but it’s an idea I can’t seem to shake. I often think that the world needs more Professional Human Beings.
But I should be clear: this is different than needing more “professionals.” Professional Human Beings are people who spend their time being the […]

When you look around at the world, it’s easy to be angry. There are socio-political problems all over: Darfur, Myanmar, Iraq, China, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Somalia… the list could go on and on. There are also the scourges of poverty and hunger that never seem to leave us. And the more mundane but pervasive problems […]

I’m tired of it. Just plain tired. Ignorance is not now, nor has it ever been, bliss. Bliss — extreme happiness, perhaps spiritual in nature — is not caused by ignorance of the world around you.
If discovering the message of Jesus is bliss, than ignorance clearly is not. For it is only through knowledge — becoming aware that Jesus died for […]