Traditions of Our Fathers

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On the way to class, I stopped off to get a hamburger for a quick dinner. I ordered it the way I always have pretty much ever since I can remember- no mayo, heavy pickle. As I waited for my order to come up, I suddenly caught myself thinking about why I always order hamburgers this way. Then I realized that it was the way my dad ordered his, and when I was a boy, I wanted to be like my dad and follow his example.

Much of our cultural and character comes from the traditions of our fathers. We learn how to do things from watching our parents and measuring whether or not we like the outcomes of the choices they make when the time comes to decide upon our own course. Unfortunately, this means that some aberrant and abhorrent behaviors are also passed from parents to children, partially for lack of alternative examples of behavior and partly because some behavior is learned subconsciously.

Consequently, some of the traditions of our fathers we inherit are wicked. A friend of mine just returned from a trip to visit one of his brothers. He made some remarks about how his nephews have noticed that their father abides by a double standard. When he applies rules to them from which he holds himself exempt, they rebel, for they have noticed a double standard. Just wait until they realize that their father is still a womanizer with a wandering eye! That will set up a precedent that it is acceptable to gawk at, perhaps fondle, and otherwise have associations with women to whom they are not married, and the cycle of tears for women will repeat itself.

There are plenty of wicked traditions of our fathers. They also approach both ends of the scale. There are parents who kick their kids out after high school. There are parents who give their children things they didn't earn. There are parents who are spendthrifts while others are scrooges. Extremes in any degree set up the subsequent generation for struggle as it tries to correct back to center and then decides to which side it will preferentially lean.

Conversely, there are also positive traditions to learn from our fathers. We have food preferences, religious observances, patriotism, responsibility, etc., most of which are also learned subconsciously. The trick to establishment of traditions is not to teach by our words but to teach by our example. My friend's nephews rebelled against their father when his actions did not back up his rhetoric. If we set a proper example, people can rise to it. How else will they know?

I thank God for a good father who tried very hard, especially when I was young, to set a good example for us to emulate.

Doubling Down on Errors

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As I frequently do, I hung around after church talking to a gentleman in my ward who sees things similarly to the way I do. We talked about how the Atonement can't help people who insist that they have done nothing wrong, because in order to repent, you must first recognize the error.

Since then, I have seen several instances of what someone once described as insanity. People insist on doing the same thing and expect different results. We see them double down on errors, insisting that they have all the answers, that they are right. At the core of this is pride.

People who refuse to repent and refuse to change do not admit that they might not be perfect. Frequently, they try to save themselves, thinking that they have to prove themselves worthy before they even go to the Savior, which if they could do negates any need for Him. They are the kind who refuse to ask for directions, who turn away help, and who often lead their flocks to the edge of the cliff and off the precipice like a gathering of lemmings. They would rather be right than find out what is right.

Good men are happy to be proven wrong. Especially when they are fearful of the result, they will gladly cede being right if there is another truth. The problem with so many of our leaders is that they are not open to the truth. They want what they believe to be the truth, come what may. You can tell a man by how he reacts to principles. Evil men say, "I do not like the rules, so I will change the rules to fit my behavior" whereas good men say, "I will change my behavior to fit the rules". At this point, well-meaning people who are nevertheless not looking for truth would point out that Jesus 'got angry' sometimes. Until and unless you are perfect and your motives are perfect without any personal gain, it's still a kind of pride to justify your behavior based on that of the Savior.

Too many of us are Rameumptons. The Rameumptons were a group of people in Mesoamerica prior to the birth of Christ who got up on a stand, called the Rameumptom, and spoke forth the same prayer. In this prayer, rather than humbly admitting their imperfections, they proudly proclaimed their perfection. One day, an army from a neighboring kingdom fell upon their city in a fit of rage and laid waste to it before the sun set.

Continuity in error is a matter of pride. As we have already discussed on this blog, pride cometh before destruction. As long as you insist that you are right and double down on your errors, proudly confident that you are better than other people, you can count on destruction in some form at some point. My best friend pointed out that he doesn't worry about me because I am sometimes unsure that I'm doing what is right. He said that as soon as you're sure you are, that's when it becomes troublesome. Yesterday, Michelle Bachmann, however tongue in cheek she may claim it to be, unjustly ascribed Hurricane Irene and the DC earthquake as evidences of God's wrath and a sign that they should change. Who is she to speak for God? That's kind of vain and worrisome to me.

When I started my lecture in Organic Chemistry last night, I took a different approach. I discussed how although the author of the text was clearly very smart I only understood him because I knew the material already. So, I told the students we would take another approach. I invited them to give me feedback if it wasn't good enough. I had really tried over the weekend to assimilate information and techniques from several courses and textbooks to do what I felt would help them most, but I knew that it might not be good enough. I know things they don't, and I may not be able to convey well what I know to them. If it was poor, I invited them to correct it, because ultimately they pay me to teach them this material. I can cover it and require them to memorize it, but that doesn't mean they learned.

In the end, politicians, like professors, are paid by the people. They are obligated to deliver on work for which they are already paid. If it doesn't help them, then they have sold an inferior and useless product. Yet, too many of them double down, insistent that they are right, that they are smart, and that the fault lies in everyone else. Mr. Miyagi told Daniel "no such thing bad student; only bad teacher". It's not always true, but the leaders and teachers have an obligation to give us truth, not to force things they hope to be truth and that only work in fairy tales. Doubling down on errors might not just cause you to lose; with the trust teachers and politicians enjoy, it might also cause loss for those who pay them to deliver, and then it really is chasing good money with bad.

They press forward anyway.  They see error only in the stars, forgetting that Cassius pointed out that it is usually in us.

Sort Through Rhetoric

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As we gear up for another political campaign, although this advice is useful at other times and with other people, it becomes more important to look at what a person believes and does than just what he says. Politicians frequently use lies to cover up the truth, and they are adept at audience manipulation. When we made the transition from radio to television campaigns, charisma became very important, as people want to be represented by someone who looks good. Even if you think they sound good, see how it looks on paper.

Proper candidates will speak of things that endorse Life, Liberty, and Property (which is necessary to pursue happiness). Pay attention to their programs, their promises, and their actual lifestyles and weigh whether what they advocate with their words and their wallets actually trends to the protection and expansion of these fundamental rights. Ignore any other 'rights' to which they refer, as they are all, if they really are things to which we have a right, appendages to these larger ideas. Focusing on small portions at the expense of the whole is like telling someone that they're perfectly healthy because their eyes look good even though all their limbs are gangrenous.

Most candidates will talk about and endorse other things. They will either tell you what they think you want to hear or things that will be of benefit specifically to them. Any benefit you happen to get will be coincidental and not purposed. Many of them do this because they want to be reelected. This is inconsistent with people like Adams and Jefferson who stuck to principles and risked defeat in elections for standing firm. What a candidate says in his ad tells you much more about how he views you than it tells you about him.

As we rely more on television, elections become slanted increasingly to a cult of personality. Kennedy and Clinton did very well because women thought they were attractive. FDR worked very hard to keep it a secret that he used a wheelchair, because that would make him appear weak. It's mostly not about you as much as it's about the politicians. When we do however get someone willing to do what he believes rather than what will get him elected, they bury Washington with telegrams asking him to desist.

Watch from 2:00 to 6:12 in the clip.

Some of our politicians hasten to liken themselves to this famous Jimmy Stewart character. I have not however seen any of them fight against Taylor-made character assassinations for sticking to principles. In the end, most of them follow the example of Senator Paine and sacrifice to get ahead and stay in Washington. On the eve of Lincoln's 200th birthday, the administration is working as hard as it can to undo the union and destroy what has happened since Lincoln was born.

It takes a lot less effort to destroy than to create. It takes a lot less effort to lie and pass the buck than to keep your promises or evaluate what you actually can deliver. The man who promises to do all he can to enhance your life, liberty, and ability to pursue happiness is the best man. The rest play parts, clothing their naked villainy in odd old ends stolen forth from holy writ and seem a saint when most they play the devil (Richard III Act I scene iii). They are really about enhancing their own lives. If it costs you, it won't bother them, and if it helps you, they'll surely take the credit. Too often we unjustly ascribe blame to the innocent and credit to spectators. In the end, you are the one who has the most power to improve your life. Remember that.

Finding Christ

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My sister worked briefly a few years back with the children's Sunday School in our congregation. She told me one day about a fascinating experience involving one of the young boys who taught me a lesson even though he was too young to know much of anything at all. This is Wyatt's Tale.

As she recounts it, the topic of the day was about personalities in the scriptures. Eventually it became Wyatt's turn to tell everyone who his favorite character was from the Old Testament. Wyatt was maybe five years old at the time, but in any case was young enough that he was barely old enough to be in the group and couldn't read the scriptures by himself if he wanted to. Without any hesitation, in his tiny boy voice, he cheerfully announced his favorite Old Testament character: "Jesus!" My sister paused. She realized that although he doesn't appear per se with that name, the Old Testament truly is about Jesus.

Jesus really does appear in all the scriptures. It is the tale of the atonement that stretches through the pages of the holy scriptures, of how God would send his only begotten son, Jesus Christ as he would be called in Greek, to help men return to the presence of God after their sins and transgressions. Not only does he appear, but he is also the central character. Even after His brief appearances in the New Testament, and leading up to it throughout the old, the prophets and apostles have spoken and written about Him since the beginning of the story told in Genesis.

A friend of mine tells of an experience that illustrates how hard it is for people who read the scriptures to find Christ. He placed a series of pictures, figures, and artifacts representing scriptural stories and figures into a sack and then asked members of his Seminary class to reach in, withdraw an item and then explain its significance to the class. Everyone reached in, withdrew an item and told of people and places and events that everyone else at least cursarily knew. When the last person reached in, he reported that the bag was empty. My friend told him there was one more item, but that it was at the bottom. It was a 4"x6" reprint of a painting of Jesus. My friend pointed out how strange it was to him that we could read the scriptures allegedly with real intent and still miss the Savior.

If you read the scriptures and miss the message of the Messiah, you kind of miss the point. The prophets have written to testify of the Savior, to turn people's hearts to Him and to prepare their minds for when He would come. How important is it therefore that all these things be made manifest to all the children of men that they may know that no man may dwell in the presence of God except through the atonement and merits and mercy of Christ who will make intercession for all the children of men.

Wyatt taught me something that Sunday. Sure, I have my favorite stories, prophets, and events, but as long as I'm not focusing on the Savior, I miss the point of the scriptures. They exist to show men to what source they may look to receive eternal life. Too often, we get caught up in our mortal life, in its thrills, its frills, its rewards, its pains, and miss the fact that those who believe in Christ might with surety hope for a better world, not just here, but in eternity wherever, however, and with whomever we find ourselves after we shuffle off our mortal coil. We let that coil hold us back instead of allowing Christ to propel us forward.

As we read our scriptures, attend our worship meetings, and talk with our friends about what matters most, may we find Christ. Sometimes we may have to reach deeper and think harder, but the prophets teach us that since all things testify of God and His plan to redeem us through a Messiah that all those who seek shall find and rest shall be their reward. I testify that there is a point to this life, that we exist because God willed that it so be. I testify that there is a Christ who will make intercession for all those who learn of Him and serve Him and look to Him through their lives for correction and direction. I testify that the prophets wrote to testify of Christ and His mission, merits, and mercies. I promise you that as you seek Him, you will find Him, and that He will strengthen your feeble knees, hold you up when you are weak and uphold you at the last day. Jesus is my favorite person in the Scriptures, and I hope He will also be yours.

Dating is Painful

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My sister and I make what has become an annual and traditional visit to see BYU's Divine Comedy group perform their annual best of show. Last April, one of their skits was on dating, and I link you to it here for your viewing pleasure:

Like Kohor says in the skit, dating is painful. The only way to get around it is either, as he says, to get married or stop.

Dating for me seems to be a Kobiashi Maru. Nobody would have thought when I was in high school that I would be the guy who was alone at night with his beagle setting up shelves or mopping the floor or shining his shoes after the age of 30. Frequently, girls I get to know wonder why I'm still single. I wonder the same thing. Then I think about the dates. I have had some rather interesting experiences.

One of my favorite dating stories involves my car. I pulled up outside the girl's house and went to the door to get her. She came out and started across the front yard (I can't remember if there was grass) and stopped suddenly. What she said sounded almost like a verbatim Star Wars quote. "You came in that? This date is over". She referred to my car. Not to miss a beat, I thanked her for sparing me the money I would have otherwise wasted on some other man's future wife and left her standing there while I got in my car and drove away.

To be fair, sometimes the girls hate me because of things I say. In this particular instance, as has been true for others who have told me "You're a great guy, but..." I have decided to put them in their place. It seems to make very little difference to be a choice man if I am the choice of no woman. When they are extremely stupid, I frequently put them in their place.

Sometimes, I don't get the chance. This week, I was stood up again. It has happened four or five times this year, including one time where I showed up at her house to find her gone and that she didn't answer her phone or respond to an email I later sent, since I was worried something had happened to her. She resumed posting on Facebook a few days later, made no acknowledgement I had attempted to contact her, and then the next month moved to California, and I have heard nothing from her since. This week, I had scheduled to take a girl out to dinner for her birthday. I was surprised she didn't have any plans, so when she contacted me via text Tuesday an hour before I was supposed to go pick her up and asked me to move it to Wednesday so her mom could take her out that night, I let it go. The next night, she asked me to move it again since she was out with her brother and nephews. I did so. Thursday, I texted her to ask if we were still on for that night, and her only response was 'hey', which neither answered my question nor furnished me with anything substantive. I have heard nothing from her since.

Very few of the girls in whom I was seriously interested have any contact with me. It is possible that in the immediate aftermath they slandered me to their friends, but since it hasn't hurt me, I am not worried about it. True love cannot be so fragile a notion that it takes many months to build but mere moments to destroy. True love must include the idea at least of permanence, because true love is forever.

Meanwhile, dating is painful. I took myself out to eat Thursday after my biology lecture section and then went home and swept the floor so I could mop today. I can't really just meet someone randomly and expect to hit it off. I'm old enough now that I know what I value and what I can tolerate, and I'm after a help meet, not someone who hopes to meet my help. If you have someone with whom you mesh well, thank your lucky stars that you're not 'in the market' as it were. If you have someone, no matter what their weaknesses may be, ask yourself why it was you decided to be with them in the first place and think of reasons to stay together. That on which you focus your energies tends to be what happens in your life. All of you who are lucky enough that God has blessed you with a family of your own to love would do well to keep in mind how blessed you really are, how many of us yearn for that opportunity, and how many people are just existing in their marriages and families. All of you who are still single, keep the faith. Happiness is the object and design of our existence and will be the end thereof if we pursue the path that leads to it, and that is a promise of a prophet.

I am a great guy. I am sure there are great things about you too. I look forward to meeting you.

Poison Pedlers

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There is a large block of people out there who argue for the legalization of drugs. They claim that crime would decrease and that people could be better helped. Some of them will also admit that they want the tax revenue, since you can't tax something that's illegal. I think they overestimate the industry.

People tend to get into drugs long term because they do not like their lives. Users take the drugs to escape reality to a 'better' world. Peddlers get into it because of the money or the power. Although some people subscribe to the notion that surrender to aberrant behaviors makes it easier, making evil things legal does not change their nature. The natural law reigns surpreme.

Although I am frequently lumped together with libertarians, I am fed up with legalization advocates who insist that crazy cartel violence in Mexico would stop if we legalized drugs. These people are not interested in being rational. They have virtually no resistance from the government, even from the military. Maybe you remember the young girl hired to be sheriff who quit after death threats or the police authorities found assassinated by drug violence. Anyone this violently motivated to make money under the radar won't quit just because they can't sell black market drugs anymore. Nothing is stopping us now from sending armies into Mexico and hunting these gangs down as terrorists... because they ARE terrorists, drugs or not. They are in this business for power, and they care nothing for you or the people they hurt. They can always find new customers when the old ones die.

This is a good example also that Ron Paul's theory is bunk. He would like us to think that if America doesn't get involved that America will be left alone. The violence is spilling over the border and catching American citizens and illegal aliens on American soil. When we do not defend our allies, we in essence betray them.

It is no mark of maturity to say "give me what I want whenever I want for whatever reason I desire or I will be a miscreant". In a recent problem between two people I know, one tried to hold the other ransom under threats of legal action. That person is not the boss, and they are not in charge.

There is a law irrevocably decreed in Heaven upon which all others are predicated. Wickedness was never happiness, and all prosperity that ever was comes from obedience to the law. Our Founding Fathers wrote that there are laws and rights that are as natural as life itself. These do not come from men and cannot be changed by him. They are from Nature's God, whose word cannot be changed.

Whatever gains we might hope from legalization of immorality in any form is temporary at best. While it might be argued that repeal of prohibition ended the risks associated with mob moonshine, the mob has not gone away. They are still criminals when it comes to the natural law. In exchange for the cessation of shootings from the mob, we have replaced it with other things more dire. Gangs now shoot indescriminately. We have spousal abuse from drunk men, DUI and DWI and Murder by the same by people who drive when drunk, and we have a great deal of wasted money going to booze and other hard chemical substances to which men have become addicted. The old obvious enemy was once avoided; in its place, we have entrenched a plague that introduces other pains, sorrows, and insecurities that destroy lives without immediately destroying the body. In the end, we have done ourselves no favors.

While making something illegal makes more criminals in an instant, no law ever passed making something legal has made men more law-abiding. Laws only target behavior. They do not change human nature.

An old indian legend is told of how Indian youths would go away in solitude to prepare for manhood.

One such youth hiked into a beautiful valley. There he fasted, and on the third day he decided to test himself against the mountain. He put on his buffalo-hide shirt, threw his blanket over his shoulders, and set off to climb the peak. When he reached the top, he could see forever, and his heart swelled with joy. Then he heard a rustle at his feet. Looking down, he saw a snake. Before he could move, the snake spoke: “I am about to die. It is too cold for me up here, and I am freezing. There is no food, and I am starving. Put me under your shirt and take me down to the valley.”

“Oh, no,” said the youth. “I know your kind. You are a rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you will bite me, and I will die.”

“Not so,” said the snake. “I will treat you differently. If you do this for me, you will be special. I will not harm you.”

The youth withstood for a while, but this was a very persuasive snake with beautiful markings. At last the youth tucked it under his shirt and carried it down to the valley. There he laid it gently on the grass. Suddenly, the snake coiled, rattled, and struck, biting him on the leg.

“But you promised—” cried the youth.

“You knew what I was when you picked me up,” said the snake as it slithered away. (From Iron Eyes Cody, “But You Promised,” Reader’s Digest, June 1989, p. 131.)

Do not allow yourself to be deceived. A leopard cannot change its spots. They are controlled substances because those who use them surrender their control and become slaves to chemical dependency. Those who sell them are snakes, and they will kill and maim and hurt any who get in their way. It is in their nature, and the poison they sell will eventually end your life.  Mr Miyagi was right that the best way to avoid a fight was to not be there.

Master, the Tempest is Raging

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Although it's still early, we've been talking all week about this hurricane. It's kind of a big deal because we just had a major earthquake on the east coast that could have caused damage as yet undetected. The ground is already saturated. Which else of the plagues will we see? Will there be riots like in Brixton, Bristol, and Birmingham? Are these signs of the times?

One other major sign of the times is a distinct absence of leadership from certain individuals. The other night, a friend of mine told me on the phone that he though the president had done a good job as commander in chief. I disagree. I see a clear absence of leadership from the president. Like the British Prime Minister said, we hear a lot of talk about rights, and authority, without mention of the attendent responsibilities. Obama wanted to be president, and he got it, with all the duties appertaining thereunto.

Watch from 3:22 to the end of the clip.

When I was in high school, even though Tropical Storms Albert and Beryl didn't actually hit our areas, we pitched in. I remember getting on a bus with a bunch of adults from the church and community and driving from the Florida panhandle up into southern Georgia where the rivers had swollen and taken out towns along its banks. Although it was during the school week, we were exempted from school and loaded up to pitch in as well as a 15-year-old boy could to alleviate the suffering of others. It was an experience that transformed my life, and I thank God for that experience. There were no big names. We were just ordinary Americans coming together in a crisis. We made no excuses. We went to work.

All the president seems to do is make excuses and avoid work. He has stayed on vacation despite the earthquake and impending hurricane. Obama says he wanted to spend time with his kids, yet he's on the golf course every day, at fundraisers and expensive dinners. He's not there to spend time with his children, and now that the tempest is raging, he's not where he ought to be either.

The one time I got written up at my last job was when I had a supervisor who refused to act like one. There is a literal "Katrina moment" looming just offshore. A caring leader would want to leave his vacation and return to his desk to do the right thing. Instead, Obama's so massochistic that he does not even go through the motions. He clothes himself in odd old ends stolen forth from holy writ and seems a saint when most he plays the devil. He ought to be in the situation room getting ready. That was his criticism of Bush during Katrina- that the government wasn't acting. Obama says he's acting, and he's right. He's playing a part. It will never be said of this messiah that he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Instead, he hides as it were his face from us.

Two millenia ago, there were men in a boat under rough seas. They looked to their master when their fear grew for support and action. Jesus came up and quieted their fears and then quieted the storm. He could have lain below, confident in the knowledge that his days were known and that his years were not to be numbered fewer. However, he had compassion on those with less power, less knowledge, and less faith than he and went to the front to face the winds. If you are going to be a leader, go to the front, because the tempest will continue off and on at least to rage.

I pray that the people will be inspired to be wise and hearken to the counsel of wise local leaders. I pray that the leaders will be inspired to act as best befits their people and be on the front when the storm's front rolls in. Real leaders go to the field, where all the honor lies.

Walkin' On Eggshells

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When I grew up, things were markedly different. We lacked some of the conveniences that the new generation expects as normal. Our teachers were allowed to discipline us. Our soldiers were known for kicking butt and taking names. Men were men; women were women; most of the time we could tell them apart. We apologized for nothing, partially because we were the moral authority, but also because we were strong. Much of that has changed. We've gone soft.

When I was a child, people didn't worry so much. We would play with bugs, skin our knees, get dirt under our fingernails, catch colds, etc., and nobody worried too much. By then, nobody worried that epidemics would wipe out neighborhoods or towns, and that was considered good news. Now, any ailment at all is considered bad. Police shut down lemonade stands and pull over kids on bikes without helmets.

During my childhood, there was more discipline. Our teachers and parents raised us. Some of us governed ourselves. It used to be cool to be disciplined. Now the opposite is true, and the government facilitates this by telling people what to do within the confines of their own homes. We have become more interested in diversity than discipline, and this has allowed people to do all sorts of things without any ramifications and confused all of the standards I learned by which to guide my choices. Sometimes you can't tell the men from the women, the good guys from the bad, the imagined world from the real one. So-called 'reality TV' exacerbates the problem.

One practical scientific application is that we're breeding a weaker species. When women became emancipated, they no longer needed masculine men to help them do things. Gone was the need for strong and fit men, like you see in film, because women did things themselves. Now, they sit around sipping wine coolers in tweed jackets thinking instead of acting. I have tried to date women who didn't like me because I didn't have a 28" waist. Seriously? Add to that the fact that our medical and technological advancements help people who would otherwise not have survived to reproduce have offspring. A century ago, I would have had few vocational options and probably would have ended up selling newspapers on the corner or working in a factory and not lived to have children. I might have caught a disease and died. I'm not saying it's wrong to save people; what I'm saying is that we've increased the pool of available genes and made it vogue to pick ones that make mankind weaker.

We also actively weaken ourselves. We eat garbage, we play down our strengths, and we try to work with and get along with everyone. We have become afraid to offend other people. We inconvenience ourselves because we can't bring ourselves to bring scrutiny to people who are more likely to be miscreants. So, we hit ourselves with a faggot to show we are penitent. Walking on eggshells hasn't made us safer. We've escaped other terror attacks because of other interpolations. Even as recently as grad school, a visiting PhD from Turkey told me that he liked America because we fought wars for other reasons than simply to expand our holdings. Our soldiers were people I admired and to which I aspired. We gain a mile and only hold an inch. We undermine our own success because Statists and Tyrants play on our consciences while they live unbound by their own and luxuriate at our expense.

Very little strengthens when it is coddled. It will not make better men if we baby them. It will not make more successful men if we excuse them. It will not make a safer country if we act as if we're villains. It will not make moral men if we excuse immoral behaviors. It will not make men if women refuse them. Muscles you never use grow weak and atrophy. Walking on eggshells gives you no callouses. Run where the brave dare not go.

Do not let what might happen paralyze you against the discovery of what will.

Hobbits, Hancock, and Habadashery

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Statists deal in notions. They are todays Habadashers, who sell us trinkets and beads and tell us what to think and why. They are the elites of yesteryear, the reason why Jefferson fought so ardently against Hamilton's advocacy of a monarchy. They are out there using denigratory terms against us to disspirit us and draw attention away from their flaws, which are legion. Unlike Hancock, they're not willing to risk any of their riches, instead expecting you to risk your own.

Their core principle is that your principles, whatever they are unless you share 100% with them, are stupid. When they fight, they fight to the death to enforce their ideology on other people. Frequently, they are very brave here but reticent to sign up to fight for American ideals abroad, and when they do, they seek exemptions as 'conscientious objectors'. How you take the officer's oath and then pull that stunt is beyond me. Among their largest campaigns we see the notion that I should put aside what I believe while they get to have whatever they believe at the expense of mine. Anyone who disagrees with them is unreasonable, unbalanced, and uncooperative. They clothe themselves in odd old ends stolen forth from holy writ and seem a saint when most they play the devil. They clamour for what they demand, which is frequently 170 degrees away from my ideals with what Levin refers to as “full shrill" under the remise that if we will be quiet about our beliefs while the other side quietly lobbies to put what they demand into law that we are somehow villains.

They create rights. Then they talk about how rights that other people don't recognize have been denied them. Lots of people are denied the "right" to marriage for many reasons; if the law changes, they can have what they will, but the Constitution still applies. Only some people are restrained from some things. Yet, the Statist wants us to think that being restrained from one thing or restraining one person is an abolition of all rights everywhere for everyone except the millionaires and billionaires. Statists cry foul when they are not allowed to do whatever they like whenever they like for whatever reason they can imagine. They strain at a gnat and expect us to swallow camels. We are frequently denied things we’d like to do, but it doesn’t mean we’re being discriminated against or suddenly bereft of rights because they say no about one thing. Do we have a right to drive at 12 just because at one time Idaho allowed that? Should we all be allowed to have vicodin because a doctor somewhere once prescribed it to some person? Should we all be dosed regularly with chemotherapy because someone somewhere once was or have our hands cut off for stealing because some other cultures do that for such crimes? There is no such thing as one size fits all. State or commonwealth determines things like who can marry and adopt based on certain requirements, not by judicial fiat or executive order. Minors cannot marry, singles typically cannot adopt, but I don’t feel slighted or think their ‘rights are denied’.

They do not care what you think. Citizens of states pass laws, like banning medical marijuana, gay marriage, and such, and the administration actively works to counter the will of the people. Defense of Marriage was passed, and then Obama decides not to enforce it. Obamacare is found unconstitutional, but Obama insists on implementing it anyway. The Dream Act is defeated, and then before going to Martha's Vineyard sends out an executive order implementing it. They do not care about the will of the people. How you can tout the virtues of democracy and then counter the will of the majority is beyond me.

Obama frequently invokes Lincoln while ignoring what Lincoln said and did. Lincoln talked of government of the people, by the people and for the people, not government of some people, by some people, and for some people. Statists rant and rave about how dangerous it would be for a 'right wing' person to get in there and tell them they can't do things that are moral or social. Yet, we do that already. In case you haven't noticed, the state doesn't recognize the sacrament of marriage without a license. Nobody seems to worry on the national level what dire consequences come to be when leftists get their way. It’s only ok to abuse power if you’re advancing a tyrannical agenda. The Statists get away as a rule with every abuse of power imaginable to impose things upon the people against their will. While it’s possible a conservative might put in someone who has two right wings, but with Statists, it is the order of the day and consistently so to install individuals who fly with two left ones. A hawk flies as well with two right wings as a dove flies with two left ones.

I am frequently surprised when people take the Statist’s side, because most of their plans are driven by emotion whereas people pride themselves on logic and reason. Liberalism is a mental disorder. It ignores human nature in favor of dreams. The trinkets and beads they want to sell you may seem good as notions, but they have very little value in the real world. Jack's three beans grew into a beneficial story because it was a fairy tale, but not all beans sold as magic really are. If being for the Constitution makes me 'extreme' or a 'Hobbit', then I am proud to be among that number. Like Tolkien's Hobbits, Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin took an adamant stand and bowed to no man. I am in good company.

Tyranny at Both Ends

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It is frequently the reactionary response in politics once the control changes parties to reverse everything done by the previous administration 180 degrees. However, it does not close the door against the cold or heat to swing it wide open in the other direction. What most people seem to forget is that both extremes of thinking in politics lead to tyranny. They just differ in the form and speed at which we arrive at the same end.

Resist the notion that it will be any more dangerous to replace this administration with something quite its opposite. Obama already frequently does the opposite of what the peopel will. For example, Congress rejects the Dream Act. On his way to Martha's Vineyard, Obama signs an executive order that institutes it. Congress passes the Defense of Marriage Act. Obama directs the Department of Justice to stop defending it in court. Those are expressly contrary to the laws of nature and of nature's God. It's too bad it only made people interested in the Declaration of Independence for a brief time when Nicholas Cage stole it on film. The powers that be forget the principles of that document and the entire premise to divest this continent from the fallacious and feudal notions of Europe.

Like his real life, Obama's summer reading list is light on topics of liberty and Founder philosophy, being instead heavily skewed to fiction. They do not live in the real world. They are trying to render earth, which is fallen, the utopia that heaven alone can sustain. After he luxuriates, he will return and begrudge you any iota of the luxuries in which he just bathed. They accuse you of living like that, as if you could afford it or would ever choose to. They will talk of corporate jets and gambling in Vegas while he pisses away our tax money and doesn't even eat any peas.

A hawk cannot fly well with two right wings any better than a dove can fly well with two left ones.

Mom Earned My Degrees

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My mother is largely responsible for my academic and professional achievements. When I was a teenager, I didn't fully comprehend the implications of what she encouraged me to do. She was really interested in my professional and educational success throughout my life, not just for high school.

Since I didn't fully comprehend back then, I can only imagine how few other teenagers realize the implications of their activities. Students don't think it's important to study math but then end up paying for courses that give them no college credit because they didn't apply themselves when it was free. For my own part, it paid up front and later on. During my freshman physics course, I went to Phaneuf's help session every week. Not only did that help me excel in physics, but it also earned me a scholarhips. The committee read Phaneuf's letter of recommendation that I was a good investment. My mom earned me that scholarship both times.

Ultimately the responsibility to teach children lies with the parents. Not all parents are equipped with the expertise to teach their children science, latin, and algebra, and so schools exist to supplement the education of children. School is a supplement for parenting and not its replacement. No matter how much a teacher may care, the students are not ours, and so we cannot care as much as a loving parent can.

One of the greatest things my mother taught me was how to find the answers. She was interested in my success and helped to hold me accountable. When I wanted to slack off, sometimes she even gave me the third degree. Thanks primarily to her involvement in my education, I am the man I am today. Unlike some of my fellow students, I am not intrinsically bright. I am dedicated, resolved, and disciplined, and so I have been able to find solutions where smarter people failed to apply themselves. It has led to periodic and temporary benefits and may be the means to something more permanent in my future.

I could not see then what I see now. I could not see that the effort paid up front saves effort later on. I am not sure that any teenager can. That's where parents come in. Being a parent is more than about siring a child; parenting is about raising them, and if you engage in activities that may lead to that, you accept the responsibility for what happens afterwards. Fortunately my mother took her responsibility seriously, and I am grateful for that.

Pennies Earned

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I took a great deal of grief yesterday for a post I put up on my Facebook page. I posted there:

Most people do not work with a sense of urgency. I would like to know how some people sleep at night who show up to get a paycheck for which they did not work, knowing full well the burden of their responsibility will be carried by others.

We have a lot of people who talk about their rights without attendent responsibilities. They think they deserve their paychecks. The only way to make money is to print it illegally in your basement or work for the US Mint. Everyone else goes to work in order to earn it.

You get your money based on work. Either you get your money by a direct trade in your time for that medium exchange or because someone else invested their life and it was reallocated to you. Robbers are the people who take things that belong to other people. Yet, too many of us talk about our privileges as if they were rights.

This week, an interesting story arose in the news that illustrates this point about how people think they deserve things they obtained by deceit or criminal means. Their dad was honest about the fraud perpetrated by his children when twin boys switched places in a contest by an insurance company to win $50,000 in a hockey shootout. By right and by law, the boys have no right to any money. What would be a win-win, to reward them for their honesty, teach them a lesson, and help the insurance company look magnanimous, would be to offer the boys a chance to earn the money. Let the twins star in a commercial for the insurance company, perhaps using the one's amazing hockey skills, and then help them learn to earn and help both the insurance as well as hockey industries.

Many people do not like their jobs, and I understand that. Most people work for the money, no matter how much good they do with it afterwards. After all, if you give away all of your stuff, you become dependent on others. Furthermore, if the government takes all your stuff, you become one among those who depend on it. The fact of the matter is that the work left undone for which you are paid is done by someone. There are usually a few people around who either have consciences or work overtime to get done what you leave behind. Fortunately for society they exist.

At almost every job I have ever worked, my employers have found they could count on me. Eventually I learned to earn my pennies. We had this massive move at work into brand new laboratories and out of storage the last two weeks, and I have been at work every day, all day, moving, unpacking, cleaning, organizing, and taking inventory for coworkers who are absent as well as doing my own work. At my previous job, I had first dibs on overtime because I was worth the $25/hour they had to pay me, because they would get the most value out of me for that rate, even if it was something that wasn't quite worth that much. The work needed to be done, and they rewarded me. Unfortunately now I work a salaried state job in education and earn far less than most of my coworkers, and all my boss can do is send me emails expressing gratitude.

Eventually, your reputation preceeds you. We need to send messages that it pays to be honest. We need to send messages that it pays to work. We need to pay people in something that helps them now and in the future- cash bonuses and accolades. When we fail to defend good principles, we send the message that they are not important and in essence betray them. The work will get done, it will be done well enough, and it will be done on time. Will you be the one who gets the reward? Will your pennies be earned?

Digging in the Dirt

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Since last Saturday, I've been really excited about finishing my landscaping and getting the garden in. I went to see the Las Vegas Tomato Lady at her home to see her place and then over to the Tonopah Community Garden, where they have invited me to help them install a section and then give classes. All of this is of course at my own expense. However, I see other value in it.

Gardening gets you back down in touch with the earth. There is something about it that reenergizes you and helps you get in touch with what really matters. In the evenings when I stand in the yard watering things with the hose, a feeling of calm comes over me, and I forget about the burdens of the day. Plus, I get to teach about something I know and enjoy, and that has rewards as well. I do that for a living.

Today, I meet with a friend to plan the landscaping of my yard. I am certain it won't meet my vision, but I am smart enough to realize that a male looks usually only at utility without too much regard for aesthetics or feeling. So, some of the plants will change, some of the costs will increase, and some of the layout in my head will be different when it actually goes in because I seek a marriage between utility and retreat that can only be accomplished by someone with an eye toward such things.

Your yard, especially in this town, should be an extension of your house. It should be a room in which you enjoy spending time. Too many Vegans have a backyard for no other reason than to act as a buffer between them and their nearest neighbor, to avoid sharing a wall, like they would in larger cities. They never go out in them, and so it matters very little with what plants or features, in any, they are filled. However, a nice yard creates a mood and serves as a place that enhances the living experience, and now that I'm hoping to earn some extra money teaching, I'm willing to commit.

I still may make changes. After all, I am the one who has to live there, and my taste matters a little bit. No sense putting in a plant for which I care very little. Also, there's plenty of opportunity for sweat equity here to both cut my costs as well as connect me to the finished product and ground me in the earth from which all other living things draw strength.

Somehow, There's a Way

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When the legislature passed their modified version of the governor's budget, I lost a lot of hope. Much of my hope for advancement and teaching opportunities actually rested in abolition of the furlough program. The powers in my own department were reticent to do the paperwork and test the waters, but thanks to a fine fellow over in Chemistry, I found an open door. So, the Chemistry department welcomes me, with my degree in Biochemistry, into their ranks even though I belong to Biology.

I had resolved that if things were supposed to work out they would. Not that I had much hope for it per se, but I knew that other opportunities would arise if teaching were once again not in my stars. By a happy chance circumstance, I managed to meet the one criterion that was no longer in my power to change, and I am moving forward.

Much of my life is, perhaps the same as with you, a series of unfortunate setbacks. I have learned over the past few years to deal submissively with heartbreak, heartache, and disappointment. I rest assured in my conviction that, although I may not understand why something like that happened, God loves me and will consecrate my afflictions to the good of my soul. My friends and associates want me to be happy. God wants me to be exalted. As I submit to God's will, I trust in good things to come.

Years ago, before things really started to turn in a way that was obviously favorable, I used to say that "what should be will be when the time is right". Somehow, there is a way to do anything that really matters. Some things don't really matter. They are neither urgent nor important. Even some either urgent or important things don't really matter. They are not necessary to our sanctification.

Human beings have a tendency to arrive at the destination on which they set their sights. Maybe you have to take a detour, but keeping your eye on the goal really helps. My tennis game improved vastly when I stopped trying to see the ball hit the racket and started looking where I wanted the ball to fly.

God asks things of men that can be done. Maybe they can't be done right now with the tools or people available, but they are all possible. If you find yourself without means or materials to accomplish what He asks, that means they are forthcoming. Either ask Him to show you where to find ore to make tools, or if He's silent for now, wait for further instructions.

When I was transferred to another campus, I wondered what God might have in mind. The new teaching opportunity is more convenient. Maybe they're just coincidental, but it sure makes it easier for me to meet the new opportunities in a win-win scenario for everyone involved. If it is God's will that I teach, He made it possible, without undue influence over my agency, and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities.

Classes start Monday.

When Children are Present

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A few years back, the high school by which I had to drive every day to park at work installed new speed limit signs. Rather than posting certain times, they included the ambiguous language "when children are present". This began to create a problem.

I soon began to notice that the police would make stops at almost all hours of the day. Even hours after school had let out, they were pulling people over. Finally, I stopped and asked one of the policemen to clarify, because I'm one of those people who interpreted the sign to mean "if you see a child anywhere (and half the college age kids look like children), drive 15mph." He admitted the signage was appropriately vague. He gave me an asinine answer that led me to believe that it depended more on the cops than on the drivers and that it might be designed to make people drive that slowly through that section all the time. If that's the case, just make the speed limit 15mph permanently and be done with it. The signs are a trick, because they're open to interpretation by too many people and because you can't argue with a cop and win. You have to do that with a judge, and even then it's no guarantee.

Today, the city of Henderson, which abutts Las Vegas to the south and southeast, announced a carte blanch replacement of school speed limit signs with these same ambiguous markers with which Las Vegas has since dispensed. Few people hold the police of their town in high regard, and so I can only imagine how the Henderson Police may take this to an unhealthy extreme. At least Vegas Metro cops are reasonable. Henderson's reasoning is that:

"research data shows that motorists drive slower through school zones marked by, “When Children Are Present” signs, resulting in increased pedestrian safety in school zones."

I'd like to see this research data and learn who paid for the study.

When I took statistics, I learned that research data can easily be made to show things it does not. That truth was further exascerbated in graduate school. People can obfuscate and omit results, fudge numbers, forget controls, drop the statistics, dismiss outliers, and focus on particular subjects to make the data fit the lines. Shoot, even the Brother's Grimm taught us that some people will cut off toes and heels in order to make something fit (in the original tale of Cinderella, her stepsisters manipulate their feet hoping to get into the slipper, which is clearly too small for them). I don't trust the data just because Henderson township says I should.

The only way this claim can be true in my mind is that everyone always drives more slowly in these regions for fear of moving violations. The signage does not specify what it means to be present, and can be interpreted to mean if there is a child somewhere anywhere in anyone's field of view.  Aren't they locked into the school grounds during recess? Do we really need to drive slowly during school hours? The cops seem to think so.  They count on it.  If you are afraid of a ticket, you will drive more slowly. That will contribute to safer school zones. It is not that the zones are safer as much as it inconveniences all the motorists who use the roads that are built for their cars. I would like to know what percentage of school zone injuries and fatalities occur during times when children can be reasonably expected to be arriving at or departing the school grounds en masse and not circumstantially because children, to whom the streets do not belong actually, are not paying attention or being reckless.

This policy villifies drivers. Sure, some drivers suck. In the past year, I have twice had people back into my car while it was parked. Both of them paid a hefty price. However, where are the children responsible to not play in the street or act as if the street, which is specifically paved for automobiles, were an extension of their playground? You in essence hold drivers accountable for the choices of people distal to them in space and in time and against whom they cannot possibly purpose harm if they do not know they are there or coming into the way soon. If you really want to do this, it would be more honest to simply change the speed limit to 15mph all the time, because then at least it's consistent and clear to everyone and not in the mind of the policeman or politicians.

Sometimes, we say too much and avoid the simple solution for one that sounds wise.

Brevity is the soul of wit. --Hamlet, Act 2, scene ii

We Live Here

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The marketing firms and tourists are fond of the notion that "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". I think this however gives a disingenuous impression of what this city really means and what the people who live here actually do. Contrary to popular belief, we are not all loan sharks, pit bosses, and showgirls. We live here too.

Perhaps it is convenient to you to be able to indulge yourself and leave those things behind when you leave Vegas. We who live here, however, have to live with your choices. As a consequence, we have gambling in abundance and all the appurtenances accessorized thereunto. Although prostitution is illegal in Clark County, there are proximal houses of ill repute, call girls, 'escorts', and all sorts of women with loose lips and loose morals, ready to help you indulge not because they like you but because they're looking for license to do likewise. We have drugs and booze, the latter of which is illegal to consume on the street unless you're a tourist on the strip. There is more crime, violent and clandestine alike, such that those of us who do not have to work on the strip avoid it as if it were a different city entirely.

We are glad of the tourists, without whom this city would probably not last. We are not what they do here. We are teachers, firemen, soldiers, scientists, craftsmen, manufacturers, classical entertainers, outdoor officianados, gardening enthusiasts, ad infinitum. Many of us come here because of the unique things this city affords. Yes, it gets hot here in the summer, but we have two growing seasons separated by a few heated summer months. You probably have snow or rain, which prohibit you from enjoying the outdoors or the fruits of the field for a longer interval albeit during different months of the year. If we sow, we can reap more.

The beauty of Vegas is choice. You may choose to indulge yourself. You may choose to discover the other side of Nevada and venture outside the bowl in which the city sits to see things like Mt. Charleston, where you can ski, Lake Meade, where you can ski, Red Rock, the Valley of Fire, ghost towns aplenty, military bases, farms, ranches, solar plants, and places of historical and photographic interest. There are also good people who, despite the environment in which we live, choose to not only make something of themselves but also to keep themselves physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. Here, the American dream remains strong that says you can choose your own adventure. We choose to live here, and the reasons are legion.

One day it would be very nice if the powers that be facilitated plans to diversify our economy. I know that Boeing tried to partner with UNR at one point and that this plan fell apart. We don't have the corporate offices or the industrial centers other states have although TNT is made here and titanium refined here. The economic state of the state disincentivises education because people can earn more money serving drinks and parking cars than they can with a college education. Their options are limited, and that is unfortunate.

It is unfortunate that some of what happens in Vegas stays here. There are great people with great ideas who do great things here. People in other states have us cloistered into some strange stereotypes. Many of us came here for a reason. All of us found a reason to stay. We live here. This is our house, and if you're here to put down roots or at least be good guests, you will always find a welcome mat at the door of the state.

Vegas Mental Syndrome

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People who live in Las Vegas are often seen as unfriendly to guests. It has a fairly basic reason that can be extrapolated from this microcosm into the nation at large. Whereas other cities draw tourism for something or some experience, Vegas is the only city that was originally founded to be a money pit. Sure, there are now restaurants, trips, shows, etc., and you can even 'see the sights' as it were if you're willing to go FAR from McCarran International, but originally, Vegas was a get rich quick scheme, and it shows.

Many people come to Vegas believing themselves to be kings. They fly in, flash their wads of cash, play it up like big shots, and all boast about how they're going to be the one who beats the system, breaks the house, and goes home wealthier than the dreams of avarice. Many of them look down on the people who live and work here, dropping 'crumbs' to the services industry in the form of tips. They believe themselves to be better than we are, and they are all convinced of it.

Most of them leave as beggars, having lost their shirts. The problem is that the arrogance does not vanish with their fortunes. They still think that, although they are the ones who took the risk, they can expect Vegans to bear responsibility for their loss. You can sometimes see them out there with their cardboard signs begging for change to get home after they lost it all. Then when we drive by they spit at us in disgust and say we are heartless.

Vegas Syndrome affects the nation at large. There are people out there who really believe that they can take the risks and that other people will, should, and must pay for it. I didn't have any say in when, where, or how frequently you sired children. I didn't have any say in your chemical dependencies, eating disorders, chemical exposure, risky sports endeavors, risky business ventures, or bad debt, and yet I am, as a taxpayer, expected to foot the bill. When I don't, you look at me like I'm stingy or greedy or in cahoots with 'the rich'. I drive a rassafrassin Saturn, clean my own house, pay my own bills, and do my own shopping. Stop pretending I am coddling the rich as if we're somehow in cahoots. Coincidental proximity to a casino does not mean I endorse or involve myself in their industry or exploits.

I heard the Prime Minister of Britain say something about the London Riots that I have been saying for some time. He mentioned the rioters were up in a huff about rights without any thought about attendant responsibilities. When you treat your goods and life as if it were a trip to Vegas, you cannot justly, legally, or in good conscience expect other people to foot the bill. You took the risk; the consequences come with it. People think they have a right to health care, retirement, unemployment 'compensation', etc., and that people who are not involved, however rich they might be, ought to pay for it. While I understand there are people who have legitimate needs for help through no fault of your own, if you dug your own ditch or have a shovel and refuse to dig out, why am I obligated to help you? That's a mental disorder.

Those of us who live in this city who do not depend directly on casinos for our livelihood generally avoid it. I do not subscribe to the notion that doing the wrong thing is better than doing nothing. When you insist on doing something, that is all about you. Physicians learn to first do no harm. If you have any doubt at all, don't. That has kept me safely off the strip and out of the casinos, and it will help keep you out of any harm that isn't brought your way by other people in your life.

In the end, we're all beggars. We depend on one another. It is however a crime to steal something from me, even if the government is an intermediary, and even if the courts sanction it, so that you can benefit. It's ok to ask. Maybe I'll actually have some change for you. You can always hope.

Pretending to Care

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Lots of people pretend to care. Few of them actually do. Some of the pretenders don't know what they do or understand that it's disingenuous. It is.

Most people only really care about people they like. Most people only like people they actually know. Given that we don't know that many people, we like even fewer and care about even fewer still. It's not heartlessness or purposed evil, it's simply because they're not people we know. Granted some people will pretend to be bleeding hearts, but their care cannot really be genuine. If you want to know what people really are like, look at how they treat those close to them.

In his novella, The Screwtape Letters CS Lewis adeptly handles this. Screwtape tells Wormwood to "direct the malice to his immediate neighbors whom he meets every day and the benevolence out to the remote circumference, to people he does not know. The malice thus becomes very real and the benevolence largely imaginary" (letter the 6th). It's all well and good to feel bad for Germans you have never met, but it isn't real if you hate your wife, your kids, or your employer. That's where the real tests of charity lie.

Our politicians operate under the premise that they care about us. They do not know us. We are in the remote circumference, and as such their benevolence is largely imaginary. When people do come into the inner circle, like Joe the Plummer or Ryan Rhodes, they show what they really think about the Average American. They lie to you and then expect you to find common ground with them. They establish the premise that they care about you. How can they if they do not like you? HOw can they like people they have not met?

They pretend. Like it or not, most of what you see is a play. People play parts to win favor, get support, or leverage some other way to their own advancement. It's what gets women to sleep with men who pretend to love them because they know how to say the right things, and it's what gets people to vote for politicians who eventually hurt them with laws 'for their own good'. They look out for people they like. If you also happen to benefit, it's because you share some commonality with people they already like. It's coincidental.

I know many people want to hear what they want to hear. Many people do not want the truth. They want answers; they want action; they want motion and activity, because they equate that with change and hope and progress as if all change is good, as if everything for which we hope is good, and as if progress can be made when you've come to the edge of a cliff. I know people want quick solutions. We're in an age of "fast foods, instant messaging, on-demand movies, and immediate answers to the most trivial or profound questions". Sometimes we forget that the things in nature that are quick, like quicksand and quicksilver, are dangerous. Good things come to those who patiently wait for a good answer or when possible an even better one. People who care will look for and offer that kind, because you are real to them.

Returns on Investment

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There is a lot of talk right now about investments. We are 'investing' in education. We are 'investing' in gold. We are 'investing' in our own Social Security retirement funds. We are 'investing' in things we may not actually want with money we do not have to impress people we do not like. Why do we so willingly accept and delude ourselves that some intellectual elite in a distant capital knows better than we do?

Last night, I watched for the first time the movie "Chariots of Fire" about Britain's olympic triumph in 1924 over the United States. In that movie, Eric Liddle, masterful runner from Scotland, stands up to the future King of Britain when he tries to press Liddle to run against his religious beliefs. The irony is that, in the aftermath, Liddle proved prescient. Thanks to another member of the UK team, a Lord whose name I forget, England won medals in both events where it lost them in the others. What does the king know? What does the coach know? All we know is that the story seems to prove that God honors those who first honor Him, just as US runner Scholz pens in a note to Liddle before his 400m heat.

Liddle tells the king something that I found completely amazing. God makes nations, and God makes the rules by which to rule those nations, one of which is that the sabbath is His. Yet, the king, like our rulers in America, want us to trust in men over God. Despite what seems to be widespread and utter contempt for politicians we surrender our property to them for things that are not in our best interest just on their word that it's for a good purpose. Even as they say that, they cut the military and NASA, which actually do bring returns on the investment. Think of all the ways your life is better because of the research and development done by those two organizations. Meanwhile, there's always enough money for the EPA, the USPS, the department of commerce (most of which goes to the national weather service), etc., run by some people who have proven to be the stupidest people on the earth. We do not render to God what is His. We render it to Caesar and hope God will respect us for honoring that lesser law.

We place too much trust in lawyers because we believe they know the law. Why is it that they know better than you do? Who knows but that you will be the next Rembrant, Einstein, Edison, More, or Jefferson? If we continue to let people shout us down and play us down, we run the risk of not meeting the next generation of movers and shakers. Even one of the runners in Chariots of Fire, Harold Abrahams, dresses down the leadership at Cambridge University when they try to hold him back, telling them he will make his own way, and he won against the two fastest men in the world. You have no idea how far you might go until you try.

Frequently, we reap little from our investments because we put little into them. Too many among us are interested in short-term gains and quick returns over really wise investments. The UK running team invested a lot into their work, and they reaped accordingly. You can't just 'buy gold' and expect that to be a panacea. Sure, it has always been worth something to someone; I have also found that when everyone's doing it, it's usually a bad thing. There may be someone who depends on you being different. Like Liddle says, God made you for a purpose, and when you do that, you will feel His pleasure and find a return, whatever form that return on your mutual investment might take.

"Garbage Digger": A Parable

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There is probably someone like this whereever you are and whatever your circumstances. Wherever you go, there is someone mocked with some kind of title like "Garbage Digger". He is dirty, with greasy hair, who is a loner, who eats and pockets things you and I would never touch, frequently because it's from the garbage. You have at least seen the rest of your peers rag on him and mock him for what he does, and in some cases you have joined in their 'sport'.

The story is told of a certain student who fit this description. He was a male member of the clarinet section of his band in high school. The kids would make fun of him, ask him if he were digging for gold. One day during roll, the teacher paused while looking through the absentee list. She stopped, looked down, and teared up. Of course, the drummers, always concerned for the welfare of others, asked what was wrong. When they discovered the boy was gone, they made comments about how they could not smell him that day. The teacher threw her baton on the ground and began to lecture them, telling them of course that he had an actual name. She told the class, all now in rapt attention, how Gerry's father lost his job the previous year and moved his family into an abandoned barn on a nearby farm. The drum section grew quiet, feeling more and more foolish.

They treat Gerry differently than you for a reason. They give him twice the food in the cafeteria because it's the only meal he gets all day. Gerry goes around to the trays and collects leftovers to share with his brother. He sorts through the garbage for pencils and paper to use in his schoolwork, turning in assignments written on the reverse of other students' love notes. The reason for his absence was that the night before, one of the lanterns in the barn fell over and burnt the barn to the ground. In the fire, the clarinet was destroyed, and since it was a loaner from the school, Gerry is out cutting firewood for extra money until he can afford to replace it. He wants so much to be like you but he can't.

A girl from the clarinet section stepped forward and gave the teacher $5 for Gerry, asking her to tell Gerry she was sorry. Others followed suit. It didn't stop during band class. Over the next month, they collected enough food for six months for the family and enough cash to buy Gerry's family a mobile home and a replacement clarinet.

Sometimes we are so caught up in popularity and prestige that we do it at the expense of Garbage Diggers. There are people who do not care how many people they hurt on their way to the top. The irony is that they are frequently the people we most desire to resemble, and that frequently their gains are ill gotten. When you go about, look out for the Gerry's in your life. They are watching you. They need you. It is not an option to be different. There are people out there whose lives depend on you being different. You know what the Gerry's look like. Stand up and be different.

A certain man, traveling the road to Jerusalem fell among thieves. They were evil men; they robbed and they beat him and left him for dead. Two walked passed, but the third helped the stranger. He was also the least likely to help, for he was from Samaria.

This is the way to really be different. So many among us try to be different using the same methods and manners and mantras as everyone else, and while they differentiate themselves from their parents and teachers and coworkers, they start to resemble the miscreants more and more. However, many people have entertained angels unawares, and even if there is no undercover millionaire looking for someone to reward, their Creator is, and the Lord who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.