The Possibility: Diaries of a Mad Optimist Vol 6 by Joseph Richard - VERY GOOD For Sale

YES, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY ... This is the sixth, but not likely the final, volume of a four-year study of the inner workings of representative human minds—contemporary minds, to be sure, but profoundly indicative of patterns of thought that have been entrenched for millennia on the battlefields of human existence. While the battles continue and intensify, I have sought an answer, an escape, a path of light for humanity that does not involve death by mutually assured destruction. Bound by fear and a grasping narcissism that seeks "personal salvation" by appeasing—or trying to become—the "Power (or Powers) that Be," human beings have trapped themselves in a cycle of reward and punishment, grift and fraud, slavery and lordship, bribery and extortion, in a tightening web of immutable presumptions they take to be their "foundation," their rock of ages they scarcely see nor even imagine being defective or in need of giving up. These books are intended for an audience of people who care about each other, or claim to. For the past 4-5 years—difficult times for America and the world—I have been corresponding deeply with distant friends and acquaintances, most of whom see the world in very different ways than I. My goal has been to continue a life-long journey to better understand both myself and others whose views, values, decisions, and public actions diverge most widely from my own. I think we owe it to ourselves to give others (who are willing) the unrestricted opportunity to explain in writing their views and the foundations upon which they ground their engagements with others and the world, just as we try to explain to them what we care about, how we make our decisions, and why. Because change, and the need for it, is the central fact of life itself, I think there is enormously much to learn about ourselves in the unique medium of writing, in the classic form of letters, conversations, and “meditations.” Writing gives us a greater external vantage point when we look back at what we have said and what others have said to us. We see ourselves as we are, a bit better, a bit more clearly, when we do so from the point of view of others. We see ourselves as being just as real and as worthy of life as millions of others … but subject to the same rules of argument and ethics as we presume must apply to others. What I learn about myself and others and our place in the world continues to disturb, shock, and amaze me. It is the hill we climb to get a better view of things and where we stand in the world—and what we must do with our time together. The journey ahead will no doubt be as difficult as any humanity has faced. These books explain what we can expect, what we have yet to take seriously, and at least one Possibility that remains. But yes, my own journey thus far does give me a renewed hope in “The Possibility”—the title I have chosen for this final book in the series—that there is a future for humanity on Earth. Joseph Richard March 2024