Terell Kirby

Trump continues issuing pardons for corrupt politicians: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/10/politics/trump-pardons-rod-blagojevich/index.html

To watch Trump basically make a mockery out of the crisis in Gaza is beyond me. Lacks zero empathy for the amount of lives lost and the bloodshed of innocent civilians at the hands of the Israeli military. I really feel for Palestinians in Gaza-Trump talks of Gaza like it’s real estate project, maybe he plans to build a casino or 5 star resort on top of the rubble and dead bodies This man speaks in ways that’s so nonsensical it’s stunning to see how far he’s made it in politics.

There's a lot of paranoia and fear mongering happening in progressive circles, I try not to get roped into-as its often over-exaggerated. Voters have indeed taken a turn to the dark side by virtue of toxic ideologies peddled by social media algorithms. This has opened the door for figures like Trump and Musk to gut federal bureacracy wherever they can to amass greater wealth and power for themselves and their offspring. This alone is cause for concern, but not an over concern. American democratic institutions, though currently in its most fragile state, are robust enough to keep a full dictatorship at bay. Expect a bumpy road for US Democracy in the next 5-10 years, but its what's needed to make the average voter suffer enough to never make such an epistemic blunder of this magnitude again. Faith in democratic institutions is only as good as the consciousness and development of voters who are interested in maintaining the integrity of those institutions. Now that they risks collapse- average people will start to feel how their irresponsibility and ignorance towards governance can significantly jeopardize their survival. This is what learning the hard way looks like.

Contemplative journal entry (2.8.25). What is the value of having a deep understanding of how to distinguish lower vs higher perspectives? 1. Path to higher epistemic standards-meaning that one can no longer take questions/problems of epistemology and human knowledge from granted. This allows one to be more intellectually rigorous in screening various kinds of worldviews and ideologies - and comes with an added skill of being able to distinguish partial truth from bullshit, lies, fantasy and deception for each of these worldviews and ideologies. 2. Safeguards the mind from epistemic corruption via group think and conformity- by way of social osmosis. Just going about believing in prescribed narratives of the herd, unquestioningly, is seen as less desirable because its both intellectually lazy and passive (lacking responsibility). One also begins to take seriously how socialization / social dynamics corrupts the mind- and the necessity in holding all human ideas about truth and reality very, very loosely. 3. There is a deeper appreciation for the wisdom of the mechanics of human self deception and ignorance- as one is now aware of how enormously challenging it is to avoid epistemic traps and echo chambers reinforced by things like social media, television, corporations, religious/spiritual communities, atheistic/scientific communities, academia, etc. 4. Greater access to metaphysical/universal insight and intuition. Reality is no longer seen as fixed or objective on any material grounds. Consciousness itself takes on an infinite number of perspectives, some of which are far removed from Truth and some right on the edge of it. From this place, one is then free to play around with various interpretations. 5. The mind becomes more fluid, less rigid and open to embracing new perspectives and the contradictions/paradoxes they introduce. Deconstructing objective notions of truth becomes less threatening, as one sees the limitations for taking holding any partial perspective in a fixed/rigid manner. All of this comes with greater degrees of intellectual freedom and autonomy, which are essential ingredients in developing high epistemic standards. 6. Deeper appreciation for human survival and how it shapes ideas/belief systems. Perspectives are seen as containers for a set of particular values. These values are often derived not from anything true or objective within the perspective, but from subjective survival biases of the subject that is holding then perspective. It's now understood that most humans, whether they are conscious of it or not, hold some kind value system that is unique to their survival demands. One can clearly see that lower perspectives are those that are unconscious about how their survival shapes their value system and worldview. Thanks much for the content @Leo Gura- I've gotten a lot out of it thus far.

Rape victim support programs have funding blocked due to MAGA buffoonery: https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/07/nx-s1-5290088/cdc-funding-delays-rape-crisis-centers

Wonder if we should call this fake news as well.. If Trump goes forward with the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada that were pushed back until March 1, the total direct cost of the import taxes on Chinese, Mexican and Canadian goods would amount to a tax hike of more than $1,200 per year for the typical American household, Peterson Institute researchers have found: Link to article: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/07/business/tariffs-reciprocal-trump/index.html

Police chase on horseback:

Kanye being Kanye:

When Leo mentions selfishness- we can look at it from an Absolute and relative lens. Relative selfishness is highly malleable and open to subject interpretation and context. Not everyone has the same definition of selfishness- what is seen as selfish for one human, can be seen as something entirely different for another. But generally speaking, inflicting suffering onto others to advance one’s personal survival agenda is generally considered selfish by the majority of humans-but again, not everyone holds the same value systems and interpretations of that value system. Selfishness from an Absolute perspective has to do primarily with what we identify with, and how we go about protecting and defending that identity. It’s not only being biased towards our own self interest, but it’s also identifying with finite aspects of reality we take as true and certain, at the exclusion of identifying with the Whole. To identify, exclusively, with the human form and narrative is to be selfish, Absolutely speaking. And it’s not until you transcend your human-ness that you being to understand what true Selflessness is (with a capital S). You be can Selfless from an Absolute perspective and “others” can still judge you as selfish from their own personal subjective lens (you can even judge yourself). Just recognize that relative selfishness is not good or bad on any moral grounds- it just is (it can be healthy or unhealthy depending on your unique survival needs, genetics, upbringing, culture, etc).

haha the way he came at Joe Biden: "that sleepy old fool is gon bust hell wide open!"

Fire analogy 🔥

The Trump Administrations war on trans continues: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/05/politics/transgender-athletes-trump-executive-action/index.html

Heart goes out to all trans veterans and those who serve(d) proudly: https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/01/28/nx-s1-5277106/trump-executive-order-transgender-military Thoughts? Does this serve the country in any way? What are your thoughts of trans in military? Is there any truth to Trump ban or is it purely ideological and sinister in nature? Is “radical gender ideology” even a real thing? interested in a mature dialogue on this topic.

Well said

Low perspective: progressive pastor fear mongering about immigrant and trans crucifixion under Trump regime: https://www.npr.org/2025/02/04/nx-s1-5227288/dei-trump-church-pastor-racial-justice Feature- ideological, doesn’t read the room, ego projection, fear mongering, fantastical, overly utopian, doesn’t consider less evolved perspectives/demonizes perspectives lower than it.

High Perspective- notice how Bernie concisely goes through the acts of devilry from the Trump Administration. He isn't just make blanket truth claims-he's giving you the exact policy and the larger impact on society. Feature: Direct, Systems thinking, holistic thinking, based on realities of policy decisions, provides a vision for the future, no nonsense / no bullshit / no games.

Hope we get more posts here! Studying these perspectives is fun

Low perspective: Trump on climate change: Feature: dismissive of empirical evidence, makes truth claims that are completely unfounded, conspiratorial thinking, dismisses of experts & scientific consensus, creates media echo chambers, general narcissism/grandiosity.

Even more fundamental to the question is the play on linguistics. The question itself assumes that the subject is able to comprehend the language used to convey the question. Does everyone have the same understanding of “rectal bleeding”? Same goes for words like ‘good’ , ‘bad’, ‘objective. Does a kangaroo know what rectal bleeding is? Not only from a linguistic standpoint, but also its ideas about rectal bleeding. We can’t assume all conscious beings have the same understanding of human language pointers to rectal bleeding, or the same visceral reaction to it as humans:

Sheesh-Musk spent a total of 290 million on election. Oligarchy at its finest: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/01/politics/elon-musk-2024-election-spending-millions/index.html

Maybe not for the private health care & insurance companies, big pharma-it’s an opportunity to make money from a certain subjective lens. Profits from bleeding buttholes

Yes- my ego would never allow me to murder my parents in their sleep because I have strong positive emotions towards them. It's a bias, nothing objective. Self preservation and the preservation of one's tribe is reinforced by my emotions. A mistake I've made in this work countless times is demonizing notions of 'ego' and 'survival' .. some aspects provide a foundation for living a healthy life, not all ideas of morality are bad from a function of pure pragmatism.

High perspective: Eckhart Tolle on Racism: Feature: acknowledges the ego, duality and sense of self at the root of what is normally considered a political talking point. Free of grand narratives or need to censor others or create a culture war.

Trump pardoning Jan 6 rapists, domestic abusers, violent criminals: https://www.npr.org/2025/01/30/nx-s1-5276336/donald-trump-jan-6-rape-assault-pardons-rioters Interesting because it serves as an honest signal of the level of cognitive development of a person who would participate in something like Jan6. These people are Stage Red goons.