Author Archives: theamericanplutarch

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About theamericanplutarch

Writer, thinker, historian.

The Philosophy of Veganism

I have been vegan. Such a statement might immediately arouse suspicions: “Why would a person not eat fast food, hamburgers, chicken nuggets, steak, fish? Isn’t such food what a large part of the American economy is based on? How can … Continue reading

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Independence: Disorder in a Democracy

In today’s day, we are confronted with disorder, almost chaos and anarchy at times. How do we bring order out of a disorderly situation? The concluding years of the American Revolution in the 1780s provides us with an example. The … Continue reading

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Animals and Time

Do animals have an experience of time similar to humans? I believe so. I propose that each life, whether human or animal, experiences time and the passage of time, hence history, individually, uniquely. It is difficult for a human to … Continue reading

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The Mysterious Mr. Lee

Almost 200 years ago, in 1819, a scientist from England, Thomas Nuttall, journeyed up the Arkansas to near this spot, the Three Forks, the confluence of the Arkansas with the Verdigris and Grand rivers. Nuttall was exploring what had been … Continue reading

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You Shall Know the Truth, and the Truth Shall Set You Free

This is the gist of remarks I made before students and faculty at the spring 2017 Matriculation ceremony at Bacone College. Many years ago I was a student at a university on the East coast. This university had a large … Continue reading

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Superstition and Science

In July, 1819, up the Arkansas River several score miles from here, a remarkable conversation took place that could have only happened in the Old West of cowboys and Indians. The conversation involved an Indian, but not a cowboy, rather … Continue reading

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The Crisis in American Politics

What the 18th century Framers of our government feared, abuse of power and corrupt politicians taking control of our system of government, has apparently come to pass, if this election season and those who are our choices for President, are … Continue reading

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There are Trillions of Lives–What about Me?

There are 7.5 billion humans residing on this small Earth, which is 15% of how many people (demographers estimate) that have lived on this Earth over the course of its 4.5 billion year history. Therefore, more people are dead, have … Continue reading

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Of Snakes

Ever since the serpent beguiled Eve, and God condemned the serpent to crawl on its belly in the dirt, serpents, or snakes, have seemed to most of us as disgusting, horrible creatures, little better than spiders and scorpions. That they … Continue reading

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Reflections on Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath

I participate as a scholar through the Oklahoma Humanities Council Let’s Talk About It Oklahoma series. Last night I addressed an audience in Broken Arrow about John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. The gist of my comments follow: At his … Continue reading

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