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Recent Posts
- Discussion articles at town meeting
- Town Meeting 2023 – Part 2
- Town Meeting 2023 – Part 1
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Cambridge Flag Project
- The Bell in the Town Hall
- Why I Am Supporting Rebecca Pitre
- Not seeking re-election
- Supporting Rebecca Pitre
- Alternative for VLCT
- Alternative to DEI
- Problems with DEI
- What is DEI?
- Questioning DEI
- What Killed Michael Brown?
- Proposition 16
- Great Awakenings
- Is Town Meeting Obsolete?
- Town Meeting 2021
- Vermont’s superpower
Introduction to this blog
Author Archives: George Putnam
Legacy of the Four Freedoms
The Four Freedoms are very much a force in our world today. (For background about the Four Freedoms, see Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms, Rockwell’s Four Freedoms, and Freedom of Speech Painting.) Franklin Roosevelt died in April 1945, just before the end … Continue reading
Freedom of Speech Painting
Norman Rockwell’s 1942 painting Freedom of Speech was a huge success. (This was one of four paintings he did to illustrate President Franklin Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms. See Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms and Rockwell’s Four Freedoms.) Rockwell himself liked it the best … Continue reading
Rockwell’s Four Freedoms
Norman Rockwell’s famous paintings of the Four Freedoms are shown below: These paintings illustrate the Four Freedoms that President Franklin Roosevelt introduced in a speech to Congress in January 1941: Freedom of speech Freedom of worship Freedom from want Freedom … Continue reading
Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms
The photo to the left shows President Franklin Roosevelt giving his annual Message to Congress (what we now call the State of the Union address) on January 6, 1941. This became known as the Four Freedoms speech. Two months earlier, … Continue reading
Act 46 and Democracy
What does Act 46 mean for democracy? Before considering that general question, let’s review a more specific question: What happened with Act 46 in Cambridge? The short answer is that the town lost control of its elementary school. The photo … Continue reading
Science vs. Philosophy
What is the difference between science and philosophy? My last two posts (here and here) touched on themes involving both science and philosophy. And that got me thinking about the relationship between science and philosophy. I don’t hold myself out … Continue reading
Complementarity and Civility
Niels Bohr was one of the most important physicists of the 20th century, a peer of Albert Einstein. In the previous post, I used Michael Frayn’s play Copenhagen to introduce Bohr and his contribution to quantum theory – the principle … Continue reading
Copenhagen – the play
Copenhagen by Michael Frayn is a fascinating play about uncertainty, complementarity, friendship, morality, and the atomic bomb. Most of these themes are familiar words, but what the heck is complementarity? Copenhagen is based on an historical event, a meeting in … Continue reading
Responses from Lucy and Zac
In my previous post (Questions for Zac and Lucy), I posed questions for Zac Mayo and Lucy Rogers, candidates for the Vermont House of Representatives representing my town of Cambridge and the neighboring town of Waterville. Please see that post … Continue reading
Questions for Zac and Lucy
The library in my town of Cambridge, the Varnum Memorial Library, hosted a Candidates Forum last night for Zac Mayo and Lucy Rogers who are running for an open seat in the Vermont House of Representatives, representing Cambridge and the … Continue reading
The Switchel Philosopher 