I am a philosopher. Freelance, in that I align myself with no established school of thought or academic institution. This passionate desire to understand the world has led to a firm conviction that the scientific method is the best way to keep from fooling ourselves. I graduated from the University of New Hampshire sometime in the dim past with degrees in English, Philosophy and Religious Studies. I have continued to study these subjects: English, to discover the way the language works, how it evolved and continues to evolve, and how to express myself effectively with it; Philosophy, in the oldest sense of the term, as striving to understand truth, both natural and metaphysical; Religious Studies, because spirituality is such a vital part of what it is to be human.
This has led me to a worldview that is atheistic, socialistic, and pacifist. I believe that the way to the Good is through science informed by compassion. All humans are kin; national, ethnic and racial divisions get in the way of understanding this. Indeed, humans are merely a part of a vast, interconnected ecosystem of living things. Cooperation, not competition, must be taught and practiced in order for human beings–and all life–to thrive.
I continue to write and to hold out hope that my fiction may yet reach a larger audience. I have spent a lifetime perfecting the craft, and take enormous pleasure in the work of writing, revising, creating and recreating. Whether it be articles, the blogs that have appeared on this site, or the fiction that is my first love, I am a writer who sees writing as a vital part of my life. Though I has not achieved every writer’s dream of commercial success, I am comforted by the Nietzschean principle of Sibi scribere: “The sensible author writes for no other posterity than his own, that is to say for his old age, so that then too he will be able to take pleasure in himself.” Even if only a few people discover and enjoy my work, that will be enough. (More on this at “About the Writing.“)
Justine can be contacted by email (jgraykin@gmail.com) and found on Facebook.
Justine Graykin 
Enjoyed your article “Place in Time” in yesterday’s Monitor. Lovely piece.
Glad you liked it. Sometimes a story just writes itself.
Wednesday 04 May 2016
Excellent article, The Blame Game, in today’s Concord Monitor! Very thought provoking. Thanks Justine.
You are quite welcome. It is my goal and purpose to provoke thought.
in the blame game your words are clear. your statements are direct. i wish the largest problems we face could be dissected so easily. cause and effect are difficult to determine when the causes and many, and obscure; and the effects are indirect and might take years, or centuries to appear. and even then might be ascribed to a myriad of other cycles of cause and effect. .
blame is the easy was to go. and for some, gives pleasure.
Determining cause and effect is an intellectual exercise which, as you so rightly point out, is difficult, complex, and often can give only partial or tentative answers. Blaming is more visceral, more emotional. It is satisfying to find a scapegoat and rage against them. It appeals to a baser part of our nature. Human beings, especially when outraged by some injustice, want immediate gratification. How many times are the police pressured to find a suspect and convict them quickly, whether they are truly guilty or not?