Aging Capriciously

A number of years ago, I wrote an article about the famous “Golden Mean” of Greek philosophy. The mean was basically a rule that said the best way of living is to balance extremes. Another way of looking at what this rule implies is that evil or bad things happen when we over do something. We need to take all things in moderation. Thus, drugs, smoking, guns, watching TV etc., are not evil or bad in themselves but when we take them to extremes they became dangerous and counterproductive.

I sincerely and whole-heartedly believe in this rule. However, recently I was thinking about it from another perspective. I was reflecting on the problems of government today and the extreme polarization that now exists in American politics. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the Greek rule was not quite strong enough. It needs something more. Perhaps…