Passing Thoughts on Some “H” Topics

Happiness - A state of contentment reached by decision, south of envy and north of disappointment.

Hazing - Process by which previously chosen people initiate by menace newly chosen people. The Original Hazing in the Garden of Eden seemed innocent enough, but ever since Eve fell for the apple trick, hazing has degenerated.

Health - Our mental and physical condition. In the US today, two enormous industries that have a financial stake in our health are the food industry and the medical industry. The former makes money selling us unhealthy foods and the latter makes money treating our poor health.

Hiking - Walking for the fun of it - even if sometimes it is hard work. Trails in undeveloped areas afford walkers the opportunity to celebrate nature and the environment while getting some healthy exercise

Hillary - Almost in a category by herself. Smarter than Bill and with much less libido, but not in his league for charisma. This heartland born and raised, hard working, conservative dressing, loving mother who stood by her man gives many on the political right apoplexy, the ignorant resenting her intellectual prowess and the intelligentsia fearing her abilities. How will her political biological clock wind down?

History - Defined as learning from knowledge of past facts and events, for many people today history has been reduced to what the controllers of the curriculum and media allow to be seen and heard. But people willing to do some searching, at the library and on the Internet, at least in free nations, can access a vastly broader spectrum of historical materials.

Hitler - If he had never been born, would the Nazis have found a substitute? Has any one person in history ever been responsible for so much human misery?

Home Improvement - Judging by the shows on the Home & Garden Channel, improvement means depersonalizing a home to neutral anonymity, in order to attract buyers who will re-do it in accordance with their own desires. Sort of like some women do when choosing men.

Homosexual - A scientific word that never became comfortable for non-scientific people to use, especially homophobic ones. None of the usually derogatory substitute words for homosexual include “sex”, possibly because using that word to categotize people by their sexual nature reminds us that we can all be categorized sexually, and homophobic people are not comfortable discussing sexuality. They prefer to call homosexuals a non-sexual name, so they can distinguish themselves by contrast, such as “gay” not being “straight”.

Hope - Though hope can be an unhealthy way of avoiding the present, it can also be a reason to keep living for those facing despondency. But most of the time our expressions of hope are more casual, involving matters that are not that earthshaking. Nevertheless, if we spend too much time casually hoping, then we are not truly living in the present.

Housing - The roof over your head. Some of us think we own our homes, but that is a matter of degree. Non-payment of mortgage installments and property taxes or other unpaid debt reduced to court judgment can result in losing a home. Home ownership in our society is considered a worthwhile goal, but there are still nomadic people by choice in the world today, and many seem quite happy moving their yurts.

Hype - From the Greek word for “throwing beyond”, like a wild pitch. When watching TV, everything other than the scheduled programming is usually hype, and sometimes the programming also deserves that description.