Opus 2025-223: The End of Why

I’m thinking on eternity, and as I’m doing so the question again comes to my mind of, “Why?”  It really doesn’t matter why what, the question is always there.  A five-year-old in the backseat playing games and asking why is meaningless.  Many times when people ask you to do certain things though it is important to know why.

My question is when we get to heaven will we still be asking why?  Will we be concerned with why?  Will we be so in tune with the presence of God that why is no longer an issue?

Somehow I think of being created in the image of God, being called as rational beings, being treated as personal beings by a personal God.  I think that the question of “why” will always be appropriate.  It may move to a different level.  There may be many things that we might ask about that we are content to wait and get the answers in time.  The fact of the matter though is there are many discussions with someone else where we need to delve a little bit deeper and “why” is one of the ways we do that.

So no, I don’t think the question of why I will ever go away.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-094: Vocabulary Lesson

It’s called slavery.

Listening to different soundbites on YouTube I keep hearing mention of “human trafficking”.  No, it is not human trafficking.  It is the time honored slave trade.  I don’t know why we are so reluctant to come with that.  Getting rich selling the bodies of young women and children was what slavery was all about.  Until the sugar and cotton plantations began to demand a stronger work force, most men taken prisoner in Africa were killed.  It was the weaker women and children who could be moved, trafficked, more easily.  It was slavery then.  It is slavery now.

It could be that the media and their Marxist allies don’t want to clarify the fact that slavery is not an issue exclusive to American history.  Slavery is, was, a worldwide norm.  It has not gone away.  It is active in every Muslim country and we see it going on here under the guise of “human trafficking” which is expressed in sweat shops, prostitution, child pornography and child sex, underpaid workers and ways normal minds don’t think about.

Christian Europe did away with slavery.  The Vatican tried to stop it in the New World plantations but there was too much money to be made.  The main force that keeps condemning it is the underlying Biblical idea that human beings are created in the image of God and have worth.  

At least now that we have a new administration in Washington there are an increasing number of voices that are speaking out against it.  Their voices would be heard better if they would set aside the feel-good euphemisms and call a slave a slave.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-093: Election 2026: Make a List, Check It Twice

We are in a very vital period on the journey of our Republic.  Two things are key right now and we need to make them work together.

First, we have an election coming and the real choices we will have an opportunity to make will not come in the general election but in the primaries.  When the choice is a (supposedly) rational Republican or a (definitly) delusional Democrat, it really isn’t a choice.  Often we can only hold our nose and hope.  In the primaries we might have a real choice.  Get ready to pay attention to the challengers.  Pay attention to what the current incumbent is doing.  It is still two years to the next election and many of them are still assuming you are not watching.  Watch.  Make a list.  If you are one of those people who always loses your list then find a blank wall to write on with a Sharpie.  Build a case for discussions with other voters.  Discuss.  We have two years to make a difference.

Second, this is a time when the Rinos come out of the word work.  President Trump was very open about what he wanted to do.  He is actively doing his part.  Many Rinos in both houses of congress and in the courts are doing everything they can to thwart him.  Watch who opposes his agenda.  At the federal court level there is little we can do but in many states the judges must stand for reelection.  Learn who must be primaried.  

Two years isn’t long unless you have given up smoking.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-054: But Should We?

The president announced that he was going to initiate a $500 million investment in AI.  That’s what the Clickbait said.  I have not yet read in depth about what he is proposing.  I’m not excited about spending more federal money to subsidize private industry.  Private industry does very well on its own if it’s worth doing.

That is a different issue than I want to address now.  I want to look more into that well-known phrase, “Just because we can doesn’t mean that we should.”  What I’m looking at here is the whole question of AI.  I can’t think of any other topic that generates so much concern and even fear in the general population.  I’m talking to those who are actually think about consequences not just the woke groups that don’t know how to think.  We are going to be moving forward into investigating the potential of computers.  That is inevitable.  While we are looking into the technology of it, we also need to consider the ethics of it.

We were involved in a war for survival when the Manhattan Project produced the atomic bomb and opened up nuclear holocaust to the world.  I’m not sure we had much choice at that point about whether we went forward with it.  There have been a lot of people looking back and second-guessing the decisions of the time and asking, “Should we have developed the atomic bomb?”  This is a question that should’ve been asked before the question of, “Should we use the atomic bomb?”

We tend to ignore the philosophical and ethical questions of our advancements.  While it may be true that we are going to advance whether we talk about philosophy or not, we still need to get in the habit of looking into the consequences of what we do.  AI in itself is simply just developing technology to be more efficient and more effective.  When asked about AI and whether it’s dangerous, the most intelligent answer I’ve heard is that it depends on who develops it and what their goals are.  Any technology can be used for evil.  Any technology can be used to benefit mankind.  The big question is which direction will this go.

In one sense I am not afraid of AI.  I understand the limitations of computer programming.  Did you hear about the self-driving car that plowed into a parked fire truck?  The programers never told it not to run into parked fire trucks.  I don’t think that we will ever get to the point where computers will be like the robots of Isaac Asimov.  It’s a nice dream in science fiction, but I somehow don’t think that will develop in the real world.  Of course, that’s based on my review of men being created in the image of God.  I am more worried about the motivation of the programmers.

Can computers be developed that are so strong and so fast that they are very effective in limiting our freedoms?  How can we keep them on a leash?  These are questions that need to be asked.  They are really future molding.

It needs to be asked loud and clear and repetitively.  We need to hold the developers feet to the fire and have open and frank discussion about what the real goals are.

homo unius libri

Opus 2022-028: Job Report

What is the message of Job?  It is referred to a lot when people wax philosophical and discuss the problem of evil.  You have probably done so even if you were not aware of it.  “Why me?” is the beginning of the conversation.  

As I read the dialogue between Job and his friends I see a group of statements that are echoled not only all through Job but the rest of the Bible:

    God blesses
    God allows suffering
    God gives us an inner assurance
    God enables us to live righteously

The book of Job is a teaching tool but is the story history or parable?  Today I am leaning toward parable but then I think that is where I was last time I raised the question.  Like many parables it is probably based on a historic event, maybe in the life of the author.  It is possible a compilation of many struggles that were observed.  The focus was teaching about Providence, trust, righteousness and obedience.

Ultimately I think that there have been millions of Jobs.  I would guess that the reason the book resonates with so many is because we have all asked the same questions.  One of the elements of the Bible that I think verifies it as the work of God is that it does not dodge the big questions or ignore hard issues.

Put on your thinking cap, pull up a chair and let your philosophy gene out of its box.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-255: Election 2020: Six Reasons to Vote for Biden

I have a question I keep asking.  Voters for Biden can’t seem to answer it so I thought, as a public service, I would give them some ideas.

The question is, “Without any comments synonymous with ‘Orange Man Bad’, give me one reason why you are voting for Joe Biden.”  I have yet had anyone do anything but sputter or stare blankly.  So let me give you a few.

1.  You believe it is moral to kill your unborn child.  Even better, once the baby is ready to be delivered you can have the doctor turn him/her for a breach delivery and kill it when everything but the head is out.  You can vote for Joe because he agrees with you.

2.  You have a deep secret hatred for Jews and want a candidate who will do everything he can to destroy Israel.  You think suicide bombers are heroes as long as they are killing Jews or Republicans, better yet, Jewish Republicans.

3.  You believe that everyone who owns a gun is a maniacal killer and that the government should be the only group in possession of firearms.  Of course you also want to defund the police so that they won’t even have firearms.  Antifa doesn’t need guns, they have fire-bombs, lasers and clubs.

4.  You believe that everyone’s taxes should be raised and the extra cash should be distributed to people like you who don’t work or pay taxes anyway.  Joe has promised to do that.  He is sincere.

5.  You want more government regulation.  You want the government to make you safe in every area of your life.  Joe is willing.  He knows what is best for you.  That includes...

6.  Doing away with fossil fuels.  That sounds very important to you, after all, why do we use fossils for fuel anyway.  You may not realize that means gasoline, oil, coal, kerosene, natural gas, propane and any other source of power that comes out of the ground.  It means you will be riding a bus to work if you have a job.  Keep in mind that oil is also the basis of all the plastic products you use and some of the clothes you wear.

You get the idea.  There are many reasons to vote for the Biden/Harris ticket.  I could go on but if that doesn’t give you any fuel for your next discussion maybe it would just be good for you to close your eyes, cover your ears and chant, “Orange Man Bad”.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-101: Getting on with the Health Care Conversation

We need to continue the conversation on health care.  I would prefer that the federal government get out of it totally but, since that isn’t going to happen, I am sure I can come up with other ideas.

How would health care be different if regular office visits were removed from the insurance coverage.  Sometimes this is called catastrophic coverage.  It is the kind of coverage that young people preferred and which they were willing to pay.  I would recommend it for everyone.

Some would say that it would cost more because regular check ups are a way of avoiding bigger problems.  People would not go if they had to pay.  That is possible but it leaves the decision up to them instead of forcing everyone into one size fits all plans.

We would also need to demand a serious co-pay for the Emergency room.  Too any people use it as their GP.  We could refund any charges if the problem turns out to be a genuine emergency.  Of course the issue then is defining genuine emergency.  It might be set at the level of being admitted to the hospital.  I remember one time I went because I thought I was going blind.  I never saw a doctor.  The triage nurse took one look at me and said, “Pink eye.”  What I thought was an emergency, and it was after hours so I had an excuse, should have cost me the going rate for an office visit and a few bucks for a generic prescription.  It should not have socked my insurance $800.

So there are a couple of ideas.  I know there are a lot more out there.

homo unius libri