Nearly 500-years-ago, Niccolò Machiavelli understood the that the company we keep says a lot about us.

"The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose."

“Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society.... To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.” - Gore Vidal

In Walden, Henry David Thoreau discusses, 'quiet desperation'. What is it? In your opinion, does 'quiet desperation' drive the human need for escapism? Does it drive a need for a sense of overall purpose in our lives? (Photo credit / Franck Michel)

Is solitude, even isolation, better than poor company? Is loneliness better than poor company? Please register and explain at our new website. (Photo credit: Thomas Rousing)

This is a story gleaned from Reddit. A man hears foreign languages and immediately is glad that he carries a gun. (Credit: Reddit User MultiKdizzle)

Samuel Johnson said, "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel". It seems like this statement is more relevant now than it has been in a while.

Demagoguery is a threat to all forms of government (democratic or not). Why do so many fall prey to the demagogue's false promises?