This is what comes to mind when reading A Tale of Three Kings. I will try stay on topic and not ramble.
This is an email I did not send but will include here as a prelude.
Hello Greg,
Gathering my thoughts and reviewing my notes. I will start writing things in Notion and will let you know when there is new content there. You can review my comments at your leisure and when you're ready. I am taking a very methodical and slow approach for several reasons. IDK. I think I have kicked over to a different metabolism where I am fueled primarily by ketones for energy and thinking. Energy levels are always consistently high and almost never dip, and the mind is always in turbo mode. I still make sure I get plenty of quality sleep but find that I just have to force myself to go to bed to avoid staying up all night. But my thinking seems to be boosted along with my energy levels, and I have much more clarity dealing with everything.
Having said that, I have many thoughts and ideas that I may keep to myself. There is little opportunity these days for an outlet for what I think. I read and write daily, and often pick some new article on Yahoo to reply to as a way to practice putting my thoughts down and to establish a daily routine to practice critical thinking and writing. But I realize that no one cares what I think, and that's ok. I just need to be ready in case anyone does care, and I want to know for myself what I think (and why).
I must admit that with all the things going on now, I find myself trying to figure out what the hell is going on. It gets into "politics", but I view it much differently now. The pandemic has really exposed things I was not really aware of or paying attention to before. I am never sure where I need to draw the line when having discussions with you. You may need to let me know. Jordan Peterson has had to become more "political" due to what his rogue government is doing to him. It is impossible to hold a view and shout it from the mountain tops in opposition to the prevailing narrative without ending up being the target of tyrannical governments which are always looking to silence their enemy to gain or maintain power.
Anyway, I should probably start writing this stuff in Notion instead of an email. These are the types of thoughts I will probably include in Notion and hopefully tie them into our discussion with A Tale of Three Kings (and whatever else we may discuss). I know that we have tried to separate "politics" from much of what you write about, and I get that and will continue to weight my comments away from the sensationalism of all the crapola in the media these days which is why I stay off social media and do not engage in any discussions which have no beneficial outcome. But politics bleeds over into everything and cannot be avoided, but I think it can be discussed in a rational and meaningful way when it makes sense to do so and provides value.
Hope all is well. I probably will take a few more days before I feel I may have something to contribute. I am up against many challenges that keep me busy these days, but I am amazingly invigorated by these challenges and optimistic that I will survive and maybe even thrive. It has become sink or swim. Or maybe I am circling the drain with some sort of mental psychosis. IDK, but that's the point.
Taking notes and creating a visual of ATOTK