This book of essays was gradually written over a period of twenty years. It reflects the author’s main areas of study, which include the indigenous native cultures of California and the rest of North America, history, Art, philosophy and ethics. The first essay in this volume, Obedience: Bane of Freedom, was begun on July 4, 2011, and reflects his rage and bewilderment over the violent self-destructive mentality prevalent in the USA, the nation of his birth. The official explanation of the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 is questioned. Anthropology Answerable, Archaeology Answerable and The Western Gate can be considered a “triptych,” each dealing with various aspects of Native California and Native America. The Western Gate refers to Point Conception, west of Santa Barbara, which is one of the most sacred sites for the Chumash people. Democracy? questions the political ideology that began in ancient Athens with a majority vote calling for the death sentence on Athens’ wisest citizen, Socrates. The American founding fathers even had their doubts: “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.“ (Benjamin Franklin) Everyday Tyranny is the most recent essay in this volume, and continues with the previous critical examination of democratic society in Europe and the United States. Commentary on the God Delusion is both a commentary on biologist Richard Dawkins’ world famous best-seller and a deeper look into the questions he raises about our perception of the universe and its origins.
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