In All Its Messy Complexity

Writers tend to fare badly under autocrats.  Dictators understand very well that the strength of thought and analysis that literature embodies is a threat to the mind control that is an essential feature of tyranny.  In countries like China, Russia, Turkey, Myanmar and Bangladesh, writers are routinely jailed or killed for creating work their governments find threatening.  For American writers, the reality of such scrutiny and peril can be hard to fathom.  We need to write now, write well — tell the truth in all its messy complexity.  It’s our best shot at helping to preserve a democracy in which facts still exist and all of us can speak freely.
—  Jennifer Egan
From her opinion piece / editorial: “Facts Still Exist“
Appearing in: Time Magazine
dtd: 24 Dec / 31 Dec, 2018  (Person of the Year, double issue)
It also appears online at:  http://time.com/5475490/writers-truth-democracy-jennifer-egan/
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On This Day In:
2018	Danger = Opportunity
2017	True And Great
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2016	There Is A Difference Between Dangerous And Frightening
2015	Always A Goal
2014	Standing Strong
2013	Shaken And Stirred
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2012	Friends In High Places
2011	Objective Independence

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Complexity Has A Strict Architecture

Today we increasingly recognize that nothing happens in isolation.  Most events and phenomena are connected, caused by, and interacting with a huge number of other pieces of a complex universal puzzle.  We have come to see that we live in a small world, where everything is linked to everything else.  We are witnessing a revolution in the making as scientists from all different disciplines discover that complexity has a strict architecture.  We have come to grasp the importance of networks.
—  Albert-László Barabási
From his book: “Linked: The New Science of Networks“
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On This Day In:
2014	Just Support
2013	Wandering Free
2012	Contribute = Paying Taxes
2011	How Will You Be Judged?

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