9. Discovering Common Themes

Curly: “Do you know what the secret of life is?”

[Curly holds up one finger]

Curly: “This.”

Mitch: “Your finger?”

Curly: “One thing. Just one thing.

You stick to that and the rest don’t mean shit.”

Mitch: “But, what is the ‘one thing’ ?”

Curly: “That’s what you have to find out.”

—JACK PALANCE AS CURLY AND BILLY CRYSTAL AS MITCH ROBBINS IN City Slickers (1991)

I choose the quiet live. I have little political ambition or desire for celebrity. The extent of my political involvement is to vote in national elections. But even a quiet person can be concerned about worldwide events and what seems to be never-ending conflict among nations.

Maybe there are things we can learn from history to understand better the nature of ...

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