The World Blog by humble servant.

The Butterfly And Cocoon A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butte...

Elites vs. deplorables: The US is now a two-tier nation A recent report shows just how deep the split between wealthy university graduates and the rest is From their views on climate change to their views on education, the detached top one percent of the US populace has voiced a range of opinions so dramatically different from the status quo that it could sink the country. At a time when there is anxious talk of people being forced to eat bugs, embrace illegal immigrants, inhabit 15-minute cities and own absolutely nothing – all the while ‘being happy,’ or else! – there is no better time to examine the mindset of the people who throw their hefty weight behind such bold initiatives, namely, the elite. According to the Committee to Unleash Prosperity (CUP), the elite are defined as people who have at least one post-graduate degree, earn at least $150,000 annually, and live in high-population areas, primarily urban coastal zones, like New York City, Boston and Los Angeles. Members of this...