Editorial note: the content below is unedited. Only format changes have been made to the content to improve readability. This post does not necessarily reflect my own personal views, but those of the credited author. Normally I write everything posted here, but on rare occasions, I've seen fit to make an exception and publish the (properly credited) work of another writer. This happens to be one of those rare occasions...a very pleasant surprise, written and submitted for your consideration by a friend. My friend (and fellow author) Frank Boccia is a very interesting man. His book The Crouching Beast was firsthand account of the Battle in the AShau Valley for Dong  Ap Bia -- more popularly known as "Hamburger Hill". Frank's work received rave reviews from the most important critics one can possibly encounter -- people who "have been there" and lived through the experience the writer has attempted to describe. His critics unanimously agreed -- Frank is a great writer with the uncanny ability of being able to put the reader in his shoes. And now without further ado, these are Frank's thoughts on rationalism. I am a rationalist. I was born that way; it's the way my brain is wired. Being a rationalist does not imply that one necessarily has one belief system rather than another. It is simply how we see and evaluate the world. We see cause and effect, in linear paths. But that is all: My father was a thorough rationalist; a man whose occupation involved the formulation of the theories of statistical economics. He was also a devout Roman Catholic to the end … [Read more...]