Monday, September 25, 2017

Please Consider This...


So here's the thing: The Constitution of the United States is the cornerstone of our democracy, from this cornerstone flows everything that our democracy is; everything in our democracy is derived from this document.  Nothing supersedes that document:  not the president; not congress; not the judiciary; not apple pie; not hotdogs, the flag, or the national anthem.  The amendments to the Constitution (including the “bill of rights”) are part of that document, the same one that all military personnel swear to defend against both domestic and foreign enemies.  So, what the president should focus on defending is any attempt to suppress the Constitution, in any form.
 In America NOTHING supersedes the Constitution; it is what defines who and what we are; so for the president to chose to defend a symbol, like apple pie, over the actual Constitution, demonstrates that he does not understand the basic principles of our country and is not fit to lead.   He defends a token symbol, while trampling on the constitution that that very symbol is supposed to embody; that demonstrates to me he has no flipping clue what he is beholden to: The Constitution of the United Sates of America.  Anyone who does not understand this needs to inform themselves before their rights are reduced to rubble.
Hence, not the flag; not the anthem; not apple pie; not the pledge of allegiance; not even Elvis should ever be defended over our rights and responsibilities as embodied in our Constitution.  The president should be on the side of the protesters, because they are exercising their rights accorded to them by said document, and they are doing so peacefully, whether he agrees with them or not.
As a summary, consider this:  Constitution trumps flag; Constitution trumps national anthem, Constitution trumps apple pie; Constitution trumps any symbol; and of course, Constitution trumps Trump.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Thursday, March 06, 2014

I do...

She said "I do" and saved me... 25 years of loving her is not enough to show her how much "I do"

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Our 25th Wedding Anniversary

from the quiver,
came the shiver,
and the hearty fever,
that would pilfer my heart

like the moon,
when just a sliver,
this new love,
became a giver of hope

and soon,
like a lever that raises the spirit, 
it did deliver,
my soul into the hands of clemency

and from that moment,
until this day of silver,
it has made me a believer,
of the power and mercy of love.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Inferno


I am not as phlegmatic as some may think, for my eruptions and disturbances lie deep beneath my well plowed and tended stoic soil.  The cauldron of my emotional state is one that lies under extreme pressures, and deep within the bowels of my earthen surface.  While observers may see an impassible regolith, deep within lies a volcano in wait, pregnant with destructive force.  I have been for many, their words not mine, “the rock” to their effervescence, their anchor well entrenched into my sides, but little do they know that an inferno lies in wait.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

In Truth...


A couple of weeks ago I had a short but heated discussion with a friend of mine at work.  It all began when he saw the cover of my current read; the book is titled Why Evolution is True.
Something in the title raised his hackles immediately, because his face contorted in that way when someone’s beliefs have been threatened.  What followed was some snide remark, which I have now forgotten.  Now, let me begin with asserting that this particular friend of mine is no dummy.  As a matter of fact, he’s a very intelligent and well-read individual, whom I respect professionally at work, and personally consider him a true friend. 

This, however, is precisely why I was taken aback when he raise the oft-heard protest from folks who have a religions belief that goes against accepting the validity of Evolution.  But, in this case I was being assailed by a rather worthy opponent; this friend of mine is a blitzkrieg debater, and his language skills and vocabulary are par with anyone I’ve met.  Consequentially, because of the acumen he has displayed in the past at ramming his point across, I knew this was going to be a very interesting debate, and one in which the best I could hope for was a draw.

I will not recount all the details of our debate, but rather will give a sense of his argument – a very good one indeed – in summary fashion; I do this only to demonstrate that he has a well thought out protest against believing in the theory of Evolution.  In short, and I do hope I do him justice here by using his own words, here is his argument against believing in evolution: “the math just doesn’t add up.” 

His contention is that from a probabilistic stand point, there is no way, even with the long geologic time spans, that mutations in the alleles of any given population, over time, through the pressures of Natural Selection, have brought all the diversity that we see now, or in the paleontological record.  He does not believe that random mutation could, even over long stretches of time, have caused speciation.

At which point I proceeded to inform him that that argument had already been made, and that there is now so much evidence, both empirical and inferred, from so many areas of the life sciences, that Evolution by random mutation and Natural Selection are incontrovertible.  That so far as science is concerned, the “theory” of Evolution is now considered to be the “truth” in as far as it “fits” all the evidence to date.  Also, that from a statistically consistent point of view, it has been mathematically tested rigorously and passed every evaluation to date.

Unfortunately, our discussion was interrupted before I was able to explain that one of the failings of his objection, and a common one at that, was that us humans have a very hard time conceptualizing the true meaning of geologic time; that in fact, one way to try to fathom these enormous stretches of time is to look at the current and past biodiversity in nature and try to understand how long it would really take life to bloom in such a way knowing just how slow evolution takes place.  Yes, as slow as random mutation and Natural Selection are, and as long as one would have to imagine for the possibility of life blooming this way; that is indeed a good way to visualize how long earth has been revolving around our sun.

However this may be, another interesting part of our discussion was my discovery of how we humans, no matter how well read, how erudite at argumentation, how bright we might be – it all is quickly trumped by our emotionally driven deep beliefs in who we are and what we are; or at least what we would teleological want to believe.  These beliefs are so ingrained into who we are that we will bend our own logic against reason in order to view reality through our own prisms. This was evidenced by me when in a last ditch effort my friend brought forth the oft-used tactic historical accounting; an example of a time in which we humans have been certain of something, only to have it overturned in the future.  Unfortunately, it was a weak tactic, for he picked a poor historical choice:  arguing that a reversal in the belief of Evolution might someday be seen as no different than as was Galileo though a heretic by the church, only to have been vindicated later as a true man of science. 

Yes, I hope the reader finds the irony here as well.  But just in case it is not clear let me delve on this point for a moment.

Is it not the case, dear reader, that it was exactly the beliefs of the church clashing against the reasoned ‘theories’ Galileo that assailed the progress of truth? Yet, my estimable friend would use his beliefs to nullify the reasoned, testable, and scientifically falsifiable “truth” of Evolution, mirroring the tactic of the church against Galileo; the hero he purports as being firstly wronged and then vindicated in time, yet assailing Evolution in the same fashion as the church did Galileo.  My friend has assailed the scientific method with personal belief, yet it is precisely this scientific method, birthed by men like Galileo, in the age of reason, that has lead to the furtherance of truth.  Maybe it’s just me, but his historically inspired argument against the longevity of the Theory of Evolution seems to work against him.

So, let us be honest here, my friend has veiled his wish for Evolution to not be true by disguising it behind his brilliant acumen, and the overused and much discredited phrase “Evolution is just a theory”; and all theories will probably be discredited in future.   Of course, I immediately countered with the usual; that is, I explained to him that a ‘theory’ in science is very different than in common parlance.  Also adding the usual explanations about all the other theories in science that people take as truths. 

But of course, he must already have know this, and said as much.  He ended our discussion with the statement that, if I may paraphrase: “we must all take any theory with a good amount of skepticism.”   I was quick to point out, however, that skepticism is indeed one of the philosophical building blocks of the scientific method, which in turn had arrived at the theory of Evolution. 

At any rate, to me the interesting thing about him having a hard time accepting Evolution as a description of what actually has transpired in the Natural past, and what I ultimately found so fascinating, can be best understood by quoting, appropriately enough, the very book that started our discussion:

“[Evolution] is both revolutionary and disturbing for the same reason:  it explains apparent design in nature by the purely materialistic process that does not require creation or guidance by supernatural forces.”

And I would add, even if one does not believe in ‘supernatural forces’ per se, it is apparent to me, that for those who still do not want to believe in the Theory of Evolution, it may be because somehow in a cold, heartless, universe that created us randomly, some may find that the meaning of our lives is diminished.  But for me, it is this aspect that makes me marvel at my own existence; one brief moment in the life of this universe, in which through me all of creation may know itself.  This is enough for me, if not for others.


One last word for what it’s worth.  The true value of my discussion with my friend was the humbling insight into my own failings:  After some consideration I was made aware of the fact that I had revealed one of mine own prejudices; for here was a person that did not fit the stereotypical type opponent of Evolution. Instead, the insight I gained here was one in which, through this person, I was able to capture a glimpse into my own nature that a discussion with someone stereotypically disbelieving of the theory would not have illuminated for me.  Namely, this taught me that I have a blind spot when I come into an argument believing that my challenger is but an intellectual trifle; that I am superior simply because they are unqualified to discuss such maters with me.  When in reality, any human that I come into contact with is as deserving of their views as I am, regardless of whether I regard them as savvy or not, and regardless of whether I believe I can discredit their belief or not.  What is more important is that we keep the conversation going, and do not suppress other’s beliefs simply because we think their belief, or person, to be subordinate.  There must be a balance struck between the search for truth, and the noble aspect of inclusion of others’ value, and values.  Truth has no value if it serves not but to diminish others.

On Writing...


The act of writing is one of persuasion and illumination.  This is even more so the case when writing fiction.  One must always remember that when one writes fiction, the main goal in telling the overall story, is one of telling the truth.  I know how that may sound counterintuitive or paradoxical, but telling the truth in fiction is paramount and I find that any story, which has no deeply felt truth, has no real interest to me, regardless of the author’s gift at weaving a good yarn.

When I write fiction I let the story evolve on its own from beginning to end, starting only with a vague idea, or interest I may have had, or dreamed, or mused upon while reading or contemplating some theme or other.  To the extent that I fail or succeed, I am aware that if the story feels contrived or fabricated in some fashion --regardless of whether the story is auto or biographical, or a version or a real event –it is in essence because no deep truth was presented, illuminate or was done so unpersuasively; without this quintessential element the story will fail.

What do I mean when I say a story may fail?  Is it that readers may be bored with the subject matter?  Could it be that they may hate my characters, or find the ideas in said story offensive or counter to their religious or political beliefs?  No, it simply means, that a good story can only be valued by readers if there is some deep and meaningful truth, invisibly woven into the fabric of the story, that transcends the readers tastes in style, subject matter, religious or political beliefs, or any other prequalification, prejudice, or taste that a reader will bring to her reading.  Yes, the challenge is daunting, and is why I believe that most of the writing published fails.

The gems that from time to time are given the light to shine out of the oft manufactured and commercial world of publishing, which tastes and goals can hinder such work, are those that have this quality; evermore so in todays profit driven nightmarish world, and when dealing in fiction.  Fiction without truth is meaningless.  Those works that survive the test of time, geography, politics, language, taste and prejudice are those which deal in truth.  Those are also the ones that can subvert whole established Meme empires; witness Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  The truth in the very fiber of its fictitious story transcended a myopic nation into a clear view of a new reality, away from the received wisdom of the age, one handed down across many a generation.  Human bondage would never again be obscured by self-interested rational.

Orwell provides for our discussion another example of the paradigm’s shifting power of truth in fiction. In his novel 1984 he unveils for us a future that with very little imagination can show us the corrupted forms of our ideals; witness what is transpiring in our own day.  The truth in his novel transcends communism, socialism, despotism, other –isms as well; but what makes it so honest is that it make us feel immediately uncomfortable, at an instinctual level, that the gray ugliness of this tell is equally applicable to aspects of our own capitalistic and democratic societies.  The warnings are clear: an unengaged populous, and concentrated power (or wealth in our case) can harbor nothing but a bleak future for most of us.  How can we not see our current situation and ourselves in these words:

“But it was also clear that an all-round increase in wealth threatened the destruction—indeed, in some sense was the destruction—of a hierarchical society.  In a world in which everyone worked short hours, had enough to eat, lived in a house with a bathroom and a refrigerator, and possessed a motorcar or even an airplane, the obvious and perhaps the most important form of inequality would already have disappeared.  If it once became general, wealth would confer no distinction.  It was possible, no doubt, to imagine a society in which wealth, in the sense of personal possessions and luxuries, should be evenly distributed, while power remained in the hands of a small privileged case.  But in practice such a society could not long remain stable.  For if leisure and security were enjoyed by all alike, the great mass of human beings who are normally stupefied by poverty would become literate and would learn to think for themselves; an when once they had done this, they would sooner or later realize that the privileged minority had no function, and they would sweep it away.  In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance….”

We are quickly, and quietly, by default or fiat, becoming just such a society; one of a few wealthy lording over the vast ignorant and foolish populace.  I will have much more to say about this in another essay, but suffice it to say that Orwell’s truth in fiction can be apply applied to us today.

There are countless examples we may give, and a long list of classics --ancient, old, or contemporary may be given  -- and we may even delve much deeper into those examples already given, but this would be out of the purview of this short essay and would take a much longer presentation than I care to provide for the moment.  However, I encourage readers everywhere to test and witness for themselves what I have espoused to in this short composition.  In a real sense, in looking for the truth in fiction one becomes an active reader, and leaves that sort of passive reading to those who would choose to be solely entertained by their reading.  Reading as a pastime is not for me.  I seek truth in fiction, so publishers and writers both, be forewarned: there are readers out here that seek the truth. 

Saturday, June 09, 2012

Butt Out!


How does one look back on life and not wonder how absent we’ve been in the greatest moments of our lives.  Why, why , why…if only.  Why do we let our fears of loss, our perfectionism, our inner lies, and our miss measure of our worth, keep us from living essentially what is our lives.  So many moments wasted on pleasing the ones that didn’t count, taking away our time from the ones that did.  If only, if only…

But the clock keeps time ever moving forward, like some kind of Dallowanian  Big Ben, a perpetual steam piston pressing time onward and away.  Away and away we move from what we plan for, so fast, always faster and faster, pushing onward and onward, away and away from our poorly planed and hoped for lives, towards our inevitable destination. 

Therefore, I say, here and now, sit back, relax and enjoy the show.  The greatest show on earth, for each and every one of us, is after all our own lives.  No matter, king or pauper, no one can deny that it is our lives to live…so butt out voices in my head, and let me enjoy the show!

Our plans are but bland imaginings...


Do not, with minds eye, look far ahead on the path your are on, hoping that it will take you left to the valley you imagined.  The path of relationship will take you where she will; and so when the path bends right, and you must follow her there, do not miss the view around you, for you will miss the grandeur of what is given you while bemoaning the blandness of what you had imagined.