Best yet.

# 14 Jan, 2014 01:19
RoaringCrow	Simply stated: this was the best episode yet. I was working in my studio while I listened and it took on an almost meditative quality. Intense and beautiful. quote

# 22 May, 2015 13:40
Aviator	Yes to me, Daniele's heartbreaking account of his Wife's passing was the most influential episode I ever heard but that's a different topic and was on a different frequency. This one was definitely one of my favorites for a few reasons. I liked the juxtaposition which it provided to the sometimes nihilistic or existentialist message which I take from the show sometimes (this is a subjective perception as Rich and Danieli actually speak about about “meaning” quite often.) Yet it fits with my belief that we infuse our actions or thoughts with meaning and that there is no such thing as “Objective” meaning, what would that look like? Perhaps it would look exactly like the story which Mrs Matteo related. That, not only did Mr. Wendell's life have meaning but he brought meaning into the lives of a growing number of people, including now, myself and though he did not seem to actively seek that, his actions and attitude attract respect and admiration. Also it was real. Mr. Wendell was not depicted like our holy founders are or even as Gandhiji is. Since history is an act of constant re-writing, not reading, historians from the past and present have often tried to infuse all of their personal values (or in the case of Gandhi, the values of a nation!) and in doing so not only do they do a disservice to humanity but also to that very person because they paint them in a position to either be one hundred percent “good” (whatever that means to each person) or completely evil. It makes it very easy to take them “down”. “George Washington had slaves” “Martin Luther King Jr had affairs” “Native Americans warred with each other way before Europeans came” etc ad nauseum. Every generation uses historical events to define their own values. People become empty vessels into which you can pour your bias, ambitions and messaging into rather than the people they were. This was not the case in this episode, I truly feel honored to know of this man and his life helps define my own struggles and joys. Lastly, for fucks sake can we stop screwing Native Americans over? When will enough be enough in this land of the free ? (Am I allowed to ask that question NSA or should I expect special attention?). Seriously , it is no longer a “crime of the white man” or some horrific past event we are now ALL culpable just as we are with any blood shed in the name of our country whether or not we support these actions (we all do btw because we pay for them). Thank you for sharing such a heartwarming and strangely hopeful story. Mrs. Matteo is also such an inspired figure I hope to hear more from her. quote

# 22 May, 2015 13:40

Aviator

Yes to me, Daniele's heartbreaking account of his Wife's passing was the most influential episode I ever heard but that's a different topic and was on a different frequency. This one was definitely one of my favorites for a few reasons.

I liked the juxtaposition which it provided to the sometimes nihilistic or existentialist message which I take from the show sometimes (this is a subjective perception as Rich and Danieli actually speak about about “meaning” quite often.) Yet it fits with my belief that we infuse our actions or thoughts with meaning and that there is no such thing as “Objective” meaning, what would that look like?

Perhaps it would look exactly like the story which Mrs Matteo related. That, not only did Mr. Wendell's life have meaning but he brought meaning into the lives of a growing number of people, including now, myself and though he did not seem to actively seek that, his actions and attitude attract respect and admiration.

Also it was real. Mr. Wendell was not depicted like our holy founders are or even as Gandhiji is. Since history is an act of constant re-writing, not reading, historians from the past and present have often tried to infuse all of their personal values (or in the case of Gandhi, the values of a nation!) and in doing so not only do they do a disservice to humanity but also to that very person because they paint them in a position to either be one hundred percent “good” (whatever that means to each person) or completely evil. It makes it very easy to take them “down”. “George Washington had slaves” “Martin Luther King Jr had affairs” “Native Americans warred with each other way before Europeans came” etc ad nauseum.

Every generation uses historical events to define their own values. People become empty vessels into which you can pour your bias, ambitions and messaging into rather than the people they were. This was not the case in this episode, I truly feel honored to know of this man and his life helps define my own struggles and joys.

Lastly, for fucks sake can we stop screwing Native Americans over? When will enough be enough in this land of the free ? (Am I allowed to ask that question NSA or should I expect special attention?). Seriously , it is no longer a “crime of the white man” or some horrific past event we are now ALL culpable just as we are with any blood shed in the name of our country whether or not we support these actions (we all do btw because we pay for them).

Thank you for sharing such a heartwarming and strangely hopeful story. Mrs. Matteo is also such an inspired figure I hope to hear more from her.