1. Everyone is NOT going to just get along. Saying we all want peace and love is fine, but it tends to gloss over differences in perspectives and priorities that can’t be solved by nice slogans or even laws.
2. People often give time and money in ways that make them feel good about themselves, rather than in ways that will bring lasting positive change. There are certain economic realities that cannot be escaped no matter how easy we want the solution to be.
3. The path of least resistance is labeled many wonderful-sounding things to make laziness look noble.
4. Those who gain positions of power do NOT have higher standards of morality than the average person. There is no reason to trust their judgement more. For related thoughts, see #1, #2 and #3.
5. Giving free stuff to people often hurts them more than it helps them. See #2 and #3.
6. Reading and literacy do not ensure the education or wisdom of people. People often choose to read and agree with false information, use reading purely for entertainment, or just disregard what they read because of personal preference.
7. Name calling does not make you smarter than the person you are berating. (This interesting article discussing several dishonest “debate” tactics)
8. Humans cannot predict the future with any sort of reliability.
9. Boys and girls are different. That’s why parents always wonder whether they are having a boy or a girl.
10. There is only so much time in a day and if you spend it doing one thing, you can’t spend it doing another. Since time makes such a huge difference in everything from relationships to expertise, how it is spent has unavoidable impact on you and those you claim to love. (like your kids)
