My neighbor called the other day and the first thing she said was, "I heard you bought a new lawn mower, did you get a good deal?"
That made me think of the priorities we use when purchasing goods and services in the marketplace today...and how, in all but a few instances, money--cost--seems to be firmly esconsed in the #1 position.
Television, newspaper and radio ads implore us to think of money first:
"Nobody but nobody undersells us"
"Find a lower price and we'll beat it by 10%"
"Rent this beautiful car for only dollars a day"
"Order in the next few days and we'll double our offer"
Store fronts are emblazoned with screaming signs:
"Going out of business sale"
"Back to school sale"
"Buy one, get one free"
"Seniors get 20% off on Tuesdays"
Store aisles are covered with bright attention-getting stickers: "This item on sale. Regular price $, sale price $, you save $." And, oh yes, "Sign up here for the store's card, carry it with you on your key chain, show it every time you come to the store, and you'll pay the low low low prices only available to our loyal customers."
Coupons offering discounts are everywhere. They come at you in the mail, they fill special newspaper inserts, they are handed out in the streets. Cutting coupons has become an occupation, and an obsession.
Now, of course, except for the few of us who have more money than we are ever reasonably likely to spend, money is a factor in any purchase. But is it really the most important and interesting thing about my new lawn mower? What about quality and safety and efficiency and durability and noise level and serviceability and warranty...and beauty.
Yes, beauty. This is an unabashed pitch to promote beauty to replace money in the #1 priority position. Beauty in all its manifestations...beauty to the visual sense (art), beauty to the auditory sense (music), beauty to the sense of touch (texture), beauty to the sense of gustation (gourmet cuisine), beauty to the olfactory sense (exotic aroma), and beauty to the mind (curiosity, conjecture, comprehension).
Beauty feeds the soul and bouys our spirit. It reveals how perfectly pure life can be. It is harmony and symmetry. It evokes the emotion of love. It brings with it an inner serenity and contentment. It adds luster to our individual lives as nothing else can do. It is the pathway to entering the glorious spiritual realm within ourselves.
To paraphrase the Bible, how greater doth a man profit than in the enrichment of his soul?
Think beauty.
Friday, July 17, 2009
THE SIMPLE SEED
I:n the seemingly endless debate on whether same sex marriages ought be legalized and recognized throughout our country, three words are notably absent.
First, let me say that marriage is not properly of government concern. It is an arrangement between two (or more) people that may or may not entail certain contractual obligations which, if there are any, ought be enforced legally as any other contractual obligations are. Otherwise, government, hands off!
But let us delve a bit further and look at the main arguments made against same sex marriages.
It is argued that being sexually attracted to a member of the same gender is not natural. That may be genetically true for most people but is obviously not true for others. For them, it is genetically natural. Secondly, in this vein, where is it written you must act in accordance with your nature? In fact, as you will see below, it is written that your right to act contrary to your nature is protected by the law.
It is argued that same sex marriages are immoral because the Bible says so. If what is written in the Bible determines morality and propriety, then those who use this argument would have to argue that slavery, stoning nonbelievers to death, treating women as second class citizens, requiring widows to marry their brothers in law, polygamy and prolific use of drugs are morally acceptable. Do they? Are they? Religious folk tend to want to make the Bible one of America's founding documents, but, sorry guys, it isn't.
It is argued that same sex marriages are not part of our culture. True, at the moment. But culture is malleable, not something rigid that must be adhered to. Our actions determine our culture, not the other way around. If we change our view of same sex marriages, our culture will change and they will become part of it, and that argument will be gone.
I said above that three words were missing from the argument. They are pursuit of happiness. The Declaration of Independence refers to our unalienable right to pursue our own happiness... and the preamble to our Constitution speaks of the desire to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Read together, it is clear that one of the revolutionary pillars of the new culture that was being established is our individual freedom to pursue our happiness in ways that we choose, provided only that we do not deny the freedom of others to do the same.
Will being an architect or a merchant or a drifter make you happy? Go ahead, you choose. Want to live in Idaho or Nevada? Go ahead, you choose. Want to smoke even though it may be harmful to you? Your choice. Want to believe in God and the Bible? Your choice (though not necessarily mine). Want to enter into a same sex marriage? Your choice.
Want to know what makes America the wonderful country that it is? Simple. Our freedom to choose how we will pursue our happiness.
First, let me say that marriage is not properly of government concern. It is an arrangement between two (or more) people that may or may not entail certain contractual obligations which, if there are any, ought be enforced legally as any other contractual obligations are. Otherwise, government, hands off!
But let us delve a bit further and look at the main arguments made against same sex marriages.
It is argued that being sexually attracted to a member of the same gender is not natural. That may be genetically true for most people but is obviously not true for others. For them, it is genetically natural. Secondly, in this vein, where is it written you must act in accordance with your nature? In fact, as you will see below, it is written that your right to act contrary to your nature is protected by the law.
It is argued that same sex marriages are immoral because the Bible says so. If what is written in the Bible determines morality and propriety, then those who use this argument would have to argue that slavery, stoning nonbelievers to death, treating women as second class citizens, requiring widows to marry their brothers in law, polygamy and prolific use of drugs are morally acceptable. Do they? Are they? Religious folk tend to want to make the Bible one of America's founding documents, but, sorry guys, it isn't.
It is argued that same sex marriages are not part of our culture. True, at the moment. But culture is malleable, not something rigid that must be adhered to. Our actions determine our culture, not the other way around. If we change our view of same sex marriages, our culture will change and they will become part of it, and that argument will be gone.
I said above that three words were missing from the argument. They are pursuit of happiness. The Declaration of Independence refers to our unalienable right to pursue our own happiness... and the preamble to our Constitution speaks of the desire to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Read together, it is clear that one of the revolutionary pillars of the new culture that was being established is our individual freedom to pursue our happiness in ways that we choose, provided only that we do not deny the freedom of others to do the same.
Will being an architect or a merchant or a drifter make you happy? Go ahead, you choose. Want to live in Idaho or Nevada? Go ahead, you choose. Want to smoke even though it may be harmful to you? Your choice. Want to believe in God and the Bible? Your choice (though not necessarily mine). Want to enter into a same sex marriage? Your choice.
Want to know what makes America the wonderful country that it is? Simple. Our freedom to choose how we will pursue our happiness.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
NATURE 1 0 1
Today, class, we will look at the nature of various species of life and how their nature determines how they should be treated.
AFRICAN LILY This plant thrives when grown on the edges of lakes and running streams. If it is exposed to frost, it will die.
DOMESTIC CAT This is a predatory carnivore by nature that hunts vermin, snakes and scorpions. It likes food rich in amino acids but should not be fed sugary foods since it is lactose intolerant. It also has difficulty digesting plant-derived nutrients. Neutering reduces its risk of getting certain cancers.
HUMAN A bipedal primate of the homo sapien family. It has a highly developed brain that is extremely curious and capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection and problem solving. It has the unique quality of perceiving beauty and creating aesthetics (art and music).
It also has a highly developed power of choice, the free exercise of which is critical to its mental health and happiness. The extent to which a human society flourishes has been shown to be directly related to the extent to which its government recognizes this natural desire to choose. The greater this recognition--politically referred to as "freedom"--the greater and more developed is the society and its citizenry enjoy the benefits of a higher standard of living and greater likelihood of attaining happiness. In those societies in which choice is restrained, humans tend to become anguished and hostile, even violent.
ELEPHANT The largest land mammal known for its memory and an intelligence comparable to hominids that plays, uses tools, has high self-awareness and manifests altruism. It has no natural predators and its existence is threatened only by human intrusion and poaching. Its trunk is so sensitive it can pick up a single blade of grass and is strong enough to rip branches off a tree.
The elephant is not fully domesticated. The male is difficult to domesticate but some have been used as weapons in war. Some females have been tamed and used in the logging industry. All elephants must be watched for moments of ferocious rage.
The nature of each species of life illuminates the most efficient and appropriate way of dealing with it. With regard to humans, it is the only proper standard of of what is right or wrong, morally speaking, and it sets the limits of government power.
A species can only survive in accordance with its nature. To treat a species contrary to its nature is to impose a death sentence on it.
AFRICAN LILY This plant thrives when grown on the edges of lakes and running streams. If it is exposed to frost, it will die.
DOMESTIC CAT This is a predatory carnivore by nature that hunts vermin, snakes and scorpions. It likes food rich in amino acids but should not be fed sugary foods since it is lactose intolerant. It also has difficulty digesting plant-derived nutrients. Neutering reduces its risk of getting certain cancers.
HUMAN A bipedal primate of the homo sapien family. It has a highly developed brain that is extremely curious and capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection and problem solving. It has the unique quality of perceiving beauty and creating aesthetics (art and music).
It also has a highly developed power of choice, the free exercise of which is critical to its mental health and happiness. The extent to which a human society flourishes has been shown to be directly related to the extent to which its government recognizes this natural desire to choose. The greater this recognition--politically referred to as "freedom"--the greater and more developed is the society and its citizenry enjoy the benefits of a higher standard of living and greater likelihood of attaining happiness. In those societies in which choice is restrained, humans tend to become anguished and hostile, even violent.
ELEPHANT The largest land mammal known for its memory and an intelligence comparable to hominids that plays, uses tools, has high self-awareness and manifests altruism. It has no natural predators and its existence is threatened only by human intrusion and poaching. Its trunk is so sensitive it can pick up a single blade of grass and is strong enough to rip branches off a tree.
The elephant is not fully domesticated. The male is difficult to domesticate but some have been used as weapons in war. Some females have been tamed and used in the logging industry. All elephants must be watched for moments of ferocious rage.
The nature of each species of life illuminates the most efficient and appropriate way of dealing with it. With regard to humans, it is the only proper standard of of what is right or wrong, morally speaking, and it sets the limits of government power.
A species can only survive in accordance with its nature. To treat a species contrary to its nature is to impose a death sentence on it.
Monday, July 13, 2009
DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH
One of the diamonds of the American way of life is Equality...that laws apply the same to all of us regardless of our differences in race, religion, creed, gender, place of origin, etc. It was the motivating ideal behind the concept of unalienable rights. Having come originally from a class-based society, we were sensitive to the inherent unfairness of government favoritism benefitting some at the expense of others. Has equal treatment under the law always been achieved? No. But it remained the glittering ideal.
Until now. President Obama and Congressional Democrats have overtly abandoned the ideal, unleashing a torrent of programs that give preferential treatment to select groups. The poor, the disadvantaged, the minority, now compose the reigning class. Its needs preempt the property rights of others to spend their funds as they see fit. "Unalienable" is no longer recognized as a word. We are returning to our class-based roots.
It is loosely stated that the needs of the needy (whatever and whoever they are) are to be paid for by "the rich." Actually, that identification is a misnomer since it is not the rich necessarily that will bear the costs but the higher adjusted gross income earner, via increased taxes. A billionaire who keeps his or her money in a safe deposit box now pays and will pay nothing, nada, zilch, for government services and benefits (like schooling, fire and police and military protection, stimulus programs, etc.). It is the higher wage earner, the producer, the successful entrepeneur that provides jobs to others, that is illegally and unconstitutionally being singled out in violation of the principle of equal rights.
Notice that the President's nominee to the Supreme Court has stated that she will infuse compassion (aka unequal legal standards) into her judicial rulings. That could be the final straw to unify the power of all three branches of government to the destruction of Equality.
That all of this is done proudly by those in political power is a testament to their ignorance of (or worse, hatred of) the concept of Equality and why it is such a glorious ideal. It reflects a disdain for individualism and achievement. I leave it to others more knowledgeable than I to figure out the swamp of misguided emotions that is propelling America's fall from grace.
We may need another Revolution.
Until now. President Obama and Congressional Democrats have overtly abandoned the ideal, unleashing a torrent of programs that give preferential treatment to select groups. The poor, the disadvantaged, the minority, now compose the reigning class. Its needs preempt the property rights of others to spend their funds as they see fit. "Unalienable" is no longer recognized as a word. We are returning to our class-based roots.
It is loosely stated that the needs of the needy (whatever and whoever they are) are to be paid for by "the rich." Actually, that identification is a misnomer since it is not the rich necessarily that will bear the costs but the higher adjusted gross income earner, via increased taxes. A billionaire who keeps his or her money in a safe deposit box now pays and will pay nothing, nada, zilch, for government services and benefits (like schooling, fire and police and military protection, stimulus programs, etc.). It is the higher wage earner, the producer, the successful entrepeneur that provides jobs to others, that is illegally and unconstitutionally being singled out in violation of the principle of equal rights.
Notice that the President's nominee to the Supreme Court has stated that she will infuse compassion (aka unequal legal standards) into her judicial rulings. That could be the final straw to unify the power of all three branches of government to the destruction of Equality.
That all of this is done proudly by those in political power is a testament to their ignorance of (or worse, hatred of) the concept of Equality and why it is such a glorious ideal. It reflects a disdain for individualism and achievement. I leave it to others more knowledgeable than I to figure out the swamp of misguided emotions that is propelling America's fall from grace.
We may need another Revolution.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
HOW IS YOU?
Now we all know that when we ask "How are you?" when we are speaking to one person, we are being grammatically incorrect. The word "are" is a plural word...we are, they are. The word "is" is its singular version...he is, she is, it is. The Spanish have it right. They have different words for the word "you" depending on whether you are addressing one person or more than one person. We don't, in English, which may account for the sometimes ungrammatical "How are you?"
So, I am campaigning to change it to "How is you?" when speaking to one person. And the response could be, "I is fine."
Sound funny to you? Is you laughing?
Good, because hopefully then we we will cut way down the number of times we ask this most popular idiotic question, "How is you?"
Think about it. At any one moment in my life, I am likely happy about some things, not so happy about others, and downright miserable about others. And is you asking about my physical health, my mental state, my financial status, my career development, my love life, what? How do I answer your question? And to what detail would you like that answer? I figure on average it would take me about two days to give you even a shortened version of the real answer...which is what I don't think you want to hear, but why then did you ask the question?
So I will give you the extremely emaciated, ridiculous and lying answer "Fine" and both of us can be on our way.
Our way? We're not sharing a way. I is not going the same way you is. Is I?
So, I am campaigning to change it to "How is you?" when speaking to one person. And the response could be, "I is fine."
Sound funny to you? Is you laughing?
Good, because hopefully then we we will cut way down the number of times we ask this most popular idiotic question, "How is you?"
Think about it. At any one moment in my life, I am likely happy about some things, not so happy about others, and downright miserable about others. And is you asking about my physical health, my mental state, my financial status, my career development, my love life, what? How do I answer your question? And to what detail would you like that answer? I figure on average it would take me about two days to give you even a shortened version of the real answer...which is what I don't think you want to hear, but why then did you ask the question?
So I will give you the extremely emaciated, ridiculous and lying answer "Fine" and both of us can be on our way.
Our way? We're not sharing a way. I is not going the same way you is. Is I?
THANKS, MOM
Willie?
Yes, Mom.
What you doin'?
Writing.
Writing again? How's it coming?
Slowly, forsooth.
Have you decided what you want to be, or at least what you don't want to be? That's the important question. But whatever it is, it should not be a blur in your mind. What do you want for supper? We have sparrow wings. Outrageous prices, unfortunately. Why don't we take our broken armchairs down to the sea, no trouble in that, and supposing we mend them?
Thanks, Mom.
What have you written so far?
To be or not to be, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them.
So beautiful. Wherever do you get your ideas from?
Yes, Mom.
What you doin'?
Writing.
Writing again? How's it coming?
Slowly, forsooth.
Have you decided what you want to be, or at least what you don't want to be? That's the important question. But whatever it is, it should not be a blur in your mind. What do you want for supper? We have sparrow wings. Outrageous prices, unfortunately. Why don't we take our broken armchairs down to the sea, no trouble in that, and supposing we mend them?
Thanks, Mom.
What have you written so far?
To be or not to be, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them.
So beautiful. Wherever do you get your ideas from?
Saturday, July 11, 2009
THE ELEVEN IDIOCIES OF THE WORLD
Nature and man have produced wondrous things and lists of the Wonders of the World are historic.
Here now is my list of the eleven most grievous man-made idiocies of the modern world:
1. THE HOLOCAUST
2. SLAVERY
3. ABORTIONS
4. FAILURE TO ACCEPT THE NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPECIES AS THE STANDARD FOR HUMAN ACTION
5. FAILURE TO COMPREHEND REALITY-BASED NONRELIGIOUS SPIRITUALITY
6. JUDGING A PERSON BY THE COLOR OF HIS EYES...I MEAN, SKIN
7. GOVERNMENTS
8. THE "TILL DEATH DO WE PART" MARITAL VOW
9. THE 50 WEEK WORK YEAR
10. THE EXPRESSION "HAVE TO"
11. GRASS LAWNS
Here now is my list of the eleven most grievous man-made idiocies of the modern world:
1. THE HOLOCAUST
2. SLAVERY
3. ABORTIONS
4. FAILURE TO ACCEPT THE NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPECIES AS THE STANDARD FOR HUMAN ACTION
5. FAILURE TO COMPREHEND REALITY-BASED NONRELIGIOUS SPIRITUALITY
6. JUDGING A PERSON BY THE COLOR OF HIS EYES...I MEAN, SKIN
7. GOVERNMENTS
8. THE "TILL DEATH DO WE PART" MARITAL VOW
9. THE 50 WEEK WORK YEAR
10. THE EXPRESSION "HAVE TO"
11. GRASS LAWNS
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