Opus 2026-186: Thank You for Asking

Do we need to understand everything?  That is called a rhetorical question.  For those who went to public school a rhetorical question is one that is either so stupid or so obvious that it does not deserve or expect an answer.  It is obvious that we cannot understand everything.  Even in a perfect world we will each have our area of strength and work together with others to put the puzzle of life together.  The Bible somewhat deals with this when it talks about spiritual gifts.  No one has them all.  Everyone has at least one.  They are given to build up the body of Christ not to glorify the individual.

Some people will go on intellectual vacation.  There are many people who are willing to have someone else make the decisions for them as long as they have beer and football.  When I am in one of those moods I would say they make up the vast majority.  It does not guarantee they will be morally degenerate, just passive.  I believe God has called us to keep thinking and using our minds.

We may come to different conclusions.  Often I can guarantee it.  The bigger the group the more chance for dissent.  The purpose of dissent is to sharpen our thinking and point out our mistakes.  It is not to identify heretics.  The time we should worry is if everyone is in total agreement.

When we differ it could be that one of us is right and the other wrong.  It could also be that we are both half way there.  Of course there is also the good chance that both of us are wrong.  One of my favorite moments in leading a study time was to say, “Of course, in eternity we may find out that both Wesley and Calvin were wrong.”  Without missing a beat one young man contributed a hearty “Amen.”

Keep asking questions.  Make them genuine.  Don’t be the teenager in the back seat who can only keep repeating, “Why?”

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-183: On the Street: The Old Cane Trick

I must admit I fell for it.  You might recognize it as the old dropped hanky trick.

I was in the waiting room of the physical therapy center where my wife was getting treatment.  I had my I-pad and a number of things I wanted to write.  I was typing away.  Off to my rear was a wheelchair bound lady who I could see had drawn a total stranger into a dynamic discussion of nothing.  My main concern was that I might not be able to concentrate over their voices.  Little did I know.

I was making progress when the current victim made her escape.  The chair bound woman must have looked around for fresh meat.  She saw me and decided she would appeal to my sense of chivalry.  She dropped her cane.  After a moment’s consideration I decided to get it for her.  It was like the fly in a Venus Fly Trap.  Chomp.

Her icebreaker was to ask me if I knew what a “hussie” was.  I should have answered, “Someone who tries to engage a strange man in conversation by asking him that question.”  I restrained myself and settled down to being polite to a very self-centered extrovert.  She knew I was writing.  She asked me about it and complemented me on my creativity.  She was also hard of hearing so any possible dialogue was off the table.

I kept waiting for her to be called into therapy or have someone come to pick her up.  I waited in vain.  Eventually my wife rescued me.  Even the knowledge that I had to go did not slow her down.  Eventually I adopted her condition of being hard of hearing, waved and walked away.

Was she just a lonely old lady?  It could be but if she is the reason would be found in the fact that she was totally aware only of herself.

Next time I will know to ignore the cane.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-175: What Did You Call Me?

My sensitivity was first roused when a friend called me names during a discussion of eschatology.  I think the first time it went over my head but he kept repeating it until it registered.  It registered that I was being labelled and put in a box and I didn’t know what the box was.  I still don’t.  I think I just laughed at him.

If you are in a graduate level theology debate using some of the big words might save a lot of time.  When you are a normal person seeking understanding of another normal person’s crazy ideas they only confuse the issue.  Do you know the difference between modalism and molinism?  I do but not under those names.  I would need to look them up.

My friend likes to accuse me of spiritualizing.  My feelings were hurt.  That had to be something really bad.  When he explained what he meant by it I began to see it everywhere.  When I looked it up I started to realize he meant using allegory or any kind of figurative interpretation.  Once I understood that I embraced the term and now when he uses it I just say, “Thank you.”  Politically I have learned to treasure the moments people call me a Fundamentalist, a right winger or narrow minded.  They bring a smile to my face.

A book I read recently liked to accuse people of Latitudinarianism.  Again it has a range of meanings.  The author meant it to be anyone who had any flexibility.  To him it meant such things as accepting people as Christians who don’t believe in the trinity.  Even worse, someone who did not use the KJV.  That second thing I made up, I think.  By his definition I would be a latitudarian because I accept people into the fold who eat fish on Friday or baptize infants.  I am willing to give people latitude on things I don’t see as essential or that are not addressed in the Bible.

Be thick skinned.  Be patient.  Don’t be afraid to ask, “What does that mean?”  You will be surprised to find out that a lot of times people use terms and don’t know how to define them.
Above all, be kind.  I don’t think there will be a vocabulary lesson at the final judgement.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-031: 491

It is awesome to be alive when a major milestone is reached in history.  I say this based on two verses from the Bible.

First we have the words of Jesus,

(Mat 5:39 KJV)  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Christians in America have been doing a lot of this.  Even non-believers who are traditional live like they believe it.  We have been the Mr. Nice Guy that every punk and thug wants the world to be full of.

Turn forward a few chapters.  Jesus is having a conversation with Peter, who asks,

(Mat 18:21 KJV)  Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

I am sure that Peter thought he was being generous but Jesus had news for him,

(Mat 18:22 KJV)  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Now I have an announcement to make.  I think we have reached 491.  If my math is good, that is one more than seven times seventy.  The thugs, punks and Progressives* (but I repeat myself) of the country have been giggling all the way to the club house.  They love to share the stories and plan new adventures.  The time has arrived.

We need to start stomping on camel noses and maybe turning a few into camel burgers.  It is time to stop being Mr. Nice Guy.  I would say we would still be good Boy Scouts but the Scouts have gone the way of the woke.  Let’s just say that we will still be all those qualities mentioned in the oath.  At the same time we need to hire lawyers and sue the sox off them.  We need to stop drawing lines in the sand and taking a step back.  We need to drive a stake into the concrete and tie ourselves to it.

Be nice.  Be courteous.  Leave your guns in the safe.  Stop backing down.  Today you defend your right to free speech.  If we don’t stand up it will be the character of our children.

*(Liberals, educators, the media, socialists, communists, crony capitalists, elites, Rinos, Democrats, leftists, Never Trumpers, Antifa, BLM, MSM, Deep State, etc.  Synonym for swamp dwellers)

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-030: Litmus Tests: Intro/Extro

I am starting to learn to evaluate people by whether they are introverts or extroverts.  There are so many times we hear “there are two types of people in the world”.  For this post the two types will be introverts and extroverts.  As is usual the case, don’t make two much of the division or expect it to answer questions about everything.  Like most divisions the two types are not always pure.  Often the two types are mixed in unusual ways.

References to these personality types confused me for a long time because I could function in either depending on the situation.  I can sit silent and listen for long periods of time and dread the need to open my mouth.  I can also stand up in front of a crowd and preach without any fear at all.  Part of my confusions was trying to define the conditions in a way that didn’t work.

I finally heard someone define them in a way that made sense.  Introverts lose energy by being with other people.  Extroverts gain energy.  That may not resonate with you but it works for me.  I tended to think of myself as shy or antisocial.  In a crowd I would avoid making eye contact.  I would ignore invitations to parties.  In reality I just didn’t want to invest the energy to be with other people.

This motivated me to develop what I think of as my intro/extro switch.  I mentally switch modes depending on the situation.  After a period of time it defaults to intro.  When I was teaching I would be intro all the way to the parking lot.  When I got out of the car I would flip the switch and become me outgoing.  At the end of the day I didn’t need to switch back.  It happened automatically on the way to the car.

Many people that we think are hostile are really just introverts.  This has been a big breakthrough for me.  Have you ever been sitting in a group and the person next to you seems to want to be somewhere else?  That is because he wants to be somewhere else.  It isn’t you.  It is just the way he is.  If you push a little he may open up and you can have a pleasant conversation.  Try it.

This train of thought is helping me to understand myself better and I hope will help me to relate better to those around me.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-142: Lemonade News

I am frustrated trying to find a reliable source of news.

Sources I trusted begin to reveal their feet of clay.  They start accepting the vaccine.  They say they are not sure if the election was stolen.  They have multitudes of ways of backing down from what I consider truth.  They tell me that if surgery is involved then the transgender is acceptable in their confusion.  When I hear that kind of thing I start putting some distance between me and them.  I will still listen; I may have misunderstood.  I will try to see their reasoning and find out why they can’t seem to see the obvious.  I could be wrong on the vaccines.  Maybe the country is in such bad shape that people did vote for Biden.  Maybe.  Probably not.  Eventually I start asking myself if someone so confused on one issue can be trusted on any other.

Certain positions put you on my list of liberals.  If you think abortion is nothing but a woman’s right to choose you forfeit your right to be taken as a moral person.  If you try to water down the Biblical position that any kind of homosexuality is unacceptable, I stop listening.  It isn’t that I can’t live in the same town with you, but that you reject the right of the innocent to life and are willing to destroy the foundation of family in our nation.  I cannot trust your discernment when it comes to right or wrong.

Maybe I am wanting something that doesn’t exist and that is a good thing.  Maybe the call on me as a believer is to keep my mind engaged.  I am to be discerning.  I am to think.  There can be no coasting or free rides.  That applies to the news as much as it does to the preacher I am listening to.  

I am trying to turn my lemons into lemonade but I am running short of sugar.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-156: On the Street: Virtuous Panic

I had an insight into why certain professions are so concerned about wearing a mask.  With the current state of panic and government manipulation a doctor who contacts the virus will be driven out of his profession.  It doesn’t matter if he has symptoms.  It doesn’t matter that he is not really dangerous to anyone else.  He will be sent home.  He will be a victim of the panic as much as an innocent bystander overrun by a riot. 

When I come up to a store that virtue signals me to be concerned for others when there is no dange,r I will turn and shop somewhere else as long as I can.  For my doctors and dentist I guess I can wear a face covering, even if I don’t think it makes any difference.

Isn’t that big of me?

I am so tired of the spirit of fear.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-233: Hatred, by Any Other Name, Be It Oh, So Sweet..., part 4 of 5, Should We?

Are different groups of people actually different?  It is a question that we don’t seem to want an answer to.  How much does it matter about differences?  We confuse difference with value judgement.  If your unit of measurement is thin or fat and your value centers on size of feet then your measurement has nothing to do with your hierarchy.  If we can accept that individuals are different then why do we have a hard time accepting that groups of people are different. 

We acknowledge that breeds of animals have certain characteristics.  I am not an animal person so I really have no insight into most but I have noticed a few things about dogs.  We had a beagle.  We only had it for a short time because the beagle had only one purpose in life, to get out and seek the impossible dream.  If the door was open a crack the beagle was gone.  She was a good dog in a general sense and got along with us just fine but she was a roamer.  Later we got a lab.  She was our dog.  If she somehow got left outside she would sit by the front door waiting to get back into our aura.  Were these characteristics of the dog breeds?  I think so.

Can you say the same thing about people?  I really don’t know.  Most subcultures of North American Indians were nomads or semi-nomads.  Was this a racial characteristic or just a stage.  You had a few tribes, such as the Pueblo, who were stationary.  In Europe you had tribes that started out as nomads and eventually settled down.  Could you breed for wanderlust in people, you know, make them beagles.  It would be a long range project because people live so long and take so long to develop.

We have seen increases in how tall people are in a few generations.  We can see that some genes are combined and others remain a selection.  What could be bred for?  How much of what you see is learned and how much is genetic?  And of course the big question that science forgets to ask, “Just because we can does that mean that we should?”

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-232: Hatred, by Any Other Name, Be It Oh, So Sweet..., part 3 of 5, Reasoned Prejudice

We all have prejudices.  Sometimes those are based on past experience and make sense to us.  Back when Cadillac was the luxury car of choice I had a hard time accepting people who drove Cadillacs.  I considered them snobs and spendthrifts.  Then one day I got to know a couple that drove a Cadillac.  I was forced to reevaluate my prejudice.  I still have no use for Rolex, but give me time.

What is one man’s prejudice is another man’s reasoned response.  I hate liver.  I am sure I have said that before.  It is not a prejudice, it is a reasoned response.  I was forced to eat it as a child.  I have smelled it for years.  I know of what I speak.  When people tell me I have just never had it prepared right I give them a recitation on the role of the liver in the body.  When I see bins of chili peppers in a Latino market I am interested but leery.  I will admit that my previous experience with peppers have not always been pleasant so I am a bit prejudiced.  Does that mean that I reject the peppers?  No, it means I proceed with caution, willing to learn.

When I see a guy with tattoos out the wazoo I have the same concerns.  If I see him in the park pushing a two year old on the swings I realize my prejudice needs to be adjusted.  If I see him wearing an Antifa shirt and carrying a stick I have a different reaction.  A man of reason can recognize his prejudices as emotional reactions and compensate for them.  That is the way most of us are made. 

We need to understand the difference between prejudice and sound judgment.  One is based on emotional reaction and the other is thoughtful response. 

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-004: A Kinder, Gentler America

By now you have heard the remarks of a new congresswoman, Rashida Tlaib.  She has been glorified as the first Palestinian woman elected to congress.  If I were into racial politics I am sure that would impress me.  I am more interested in what kind of person she is and her priorities for the country.

She has shown herself to be a genuine Democrat by making her first priority to impeach president Trump.  We may be approaching the time when being a Republican is enough grounds for impeachment.  We have already reached that point in indictments and government coercion to intimidate people into making false accusations, witness Mike Flynn, et al.  We see Flynn facing jail time for what was questionably a lie while Comey runs free after admitting to turning over classified documents to a friend so the friend could leak them to a reporter.  We see Hillary running free after breaking numerous laws in the use and elimination of e-mails.  Since they are not Republicans, there are no trials.  So maybe the Democrats can make a case.

At the same time, Tlaib, a representative of the party of tolerance and kindness, decided to reveal what Trump will really be accused of.  She accused him of having sexual relations with his mother, or possibly other mothers.  I don’t recall him using that offensive word against political rivals.  I want the left to know that I am triggered and feel offended.  I am going to apply for a snowflake card.

I would scratch my head if it wasn’t already bloody.  The Democrats and their sycophants in the media like to attack President Trump because they consider him vulgar and not nice.  Then one of their new shining lights uses language like this.  It is nothing new.  This has been going on for at least a decade.  Remember how they accused conservative talk radio of inciting violence when it was always the left calling for it?  Remember Hillary and the “vast right wing conspiracy” when the conspiracies are all on the left?  The pattern continues. 

And now a Republican Shining Light, Mitt Romney, joins the circus.  I wonder if it is too late for him to re-register as a Democrat. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-055: Grow Up, Move On

While we are on the subject of reparations let’s apply the principle logically and consistently.  We hear the word in relation to slavery in America and all of the nasty things done to black people over the years.  Discrimination of the bad kind was too common and justice of the good kind was too rare.  In modern thinking slavery was an evil institution.  Segregated drinking fountains were a slap in the face of people who deserved more.  We have heard about it so many times that we think what we are hearing is the whole story.  We need to get out of our shells and look at history.  If we are going to get into a memory game and demand that past evils be made good we have a lot of digging to do.

What got me on this topic was thinking about the Middle East and the Arab/Jew conflict.  We need to keep in mind that this conflict goes back a long way.  The earliest record I am aware of was around 1,500 B.C. when the Egyptians (Arabs?) made slaves of the visiting decedents of Abraham (Jews).  It seems the slavery went on for 400 years.  So with compounded interest, how much does Egypt owe to the Jews of the world?

Did I mention slavery?  Keep in mind that historically slavery, until recently, was a normal part of life.  As far back as you go in time people accepted slavery.  They generally did not like it if they were the slaves although there were exceptions.  If you were the master it didn’t seem to be such a bad deal.  What has always amazed me is that warriors who were captured in battle would then submit to being slaves.  They would even become the bodyguards of the person who enslaved them.  There was a mind set that said, “I lost fair and square.  I deserve this.”  We don’t understand that because with the advent of Christianity it became necessary to look at your slave as your brother.

If we are going to look back on history and try to right all wrongs there will never be any peace in the world and civilization will come to an end.  I wonder if there is any self identifying group in the history of the world that could not find something to feel they needed to be reimbursed for.  Take the Irish.  They were pushed into Germany by some other group.  Then the Germans pushed them to France.  The Franks pushed them to Britain.  The Saxons and Norsemen pushed them to Ireland.  The English pushed them to the United States.  Here they were discriminated against by just about everyone.  Who are they going to get paid off by?  Everyone.  When?  Never.

So grow up and live your life.  Take responsibility and play the cards dealt you.  You can’t change the past but you can influence the future.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-344: Monday Pulpit: Dogma and the First Amendment

I have strong opinions about a lot of things.  I know, surprise.  At the same time I am sometimes quite comfortable with other people having strong opinions that differ from mine.  Some areas don’t make a whole lot of difference.  You can serve menudo at your restaurant and as long as you keep it far away from me I might come back.  You can wear garish combinations of colors and I will be glad to treat you like a human being with some worth.  You can refuse to have a gun in your home and drive a hybrid.  We can get along.  That is what the First Amendment and Freedom of Speech is all about, the things we disagree on.

Other things are open to debate but demand a strong response.  You are wrong if you abort your baby.  You a stealing if you take handouts when you don’t need them.  You are going to hell by any path but Jesus.

I am also in favor of expressing opinions.  I will express mine.  I would be a better person if you would express yours.  How do you expect me to be enlightened if you don’t care enough about me to lead me to the truth?  Of course that goes both ways.  What got me going down this dangerous path was a statement by the pastor in a church I attended a few weeks ago.  This is a paraphrase but close enough for reference.

“When it comes to doctrine we are not only allowed to make a strong statement, we are required to do so.  It is not judgmental.”

It was a Presbyterian Church and the pastor was wearing a robe so I did not shout, “Amen”.  There were even people there who had on coats and ties so I did not run the aisles waving my hanky. 

The church was also loaded with Calvinists so I had to be careful.  There were times in history when being an Arminian around a bunch of Calvinists could get you burned at the stake.  I was worshiping with a bunch of people that I had deep disagreements with.  I can do that.  There are a few issues that bring my blood to a boil but I can live with that because they have the basics down.  We agree to disagree, or at least I do. 

So preach it, brother.  It may have to do with the TULIP system.  If you don’t know what that is then you are not a graduate of a Calvinist seminary.  It may have to do with tax rates.  It could be that you hate Trump.  Say it loud and clear.

I may need to straighten you out, unless you are a Calvinist.  Calvinists are hopeless.  Brothers in Christ, but hopeless.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-332: RSVP

I can understand why the sheep who follow the Progressive elites would not want to go to the White House to meet President Trump.  I would feel the same level of enthusiasm if I had been invited by Barak Obama.  I would not call him all the gutter names they come up with.  I would voice my opinion with grammar and vocabulary that showed I had graduated from 8th grade.  I would not hold a press conference and, of course, no one would care.

On the other hand I don’t think I ever referred to Obama as “not my president”.  He was president of the United States.  I am an American.  He won the election.  I am a patriot.  I did not like his policies.  His arrogance made Trump look humble.  His accomplishments made Trump look awesome.  I did not respect him but I did respect the office.

I often had this discussion with students.  It was hard for them to grasp.  They have been indoctrinated with the distortion that anyone who disagrees with them is a hater.  They have been groomed to live in the world of 1984 and they are well suited.

So stay away from the White House.  It is okay with me.  It will save us time because we won’t need to count the silverware after you leave.  It is called freedom and I want you to have it as much as I do.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-330: Headlines: A Blizzard of Snowflakes

It looks like the battle between the working classes in America and the prima dona snowflakes of the sports world is escalating.  Again some disclaimer.  I do not pay attention to professional basketball.  I have never paid attention to professional basketball.  Now it seems that they are moving toward the list of overpaid-to-play-games crowd that live in a bubble. 

The NBA champions (?) will not be invited to the White House this year.  I think that is the impact of the headlines I am seeing at My San Antonio.  There seems to be some disagreement on whether they were invited in the first place or would ever consider attending but it is more fun to watch than an NBA game, at least for me.  I remember ignoring sport teams visiting the White House in the past.  Now I can ignore them not going.

We have all the hoopla over the NFL knee problems.  America as a whole has been cheering Trump as he says, “Fire the bums” even if we think turning off the TV is enough.  Now it seems to be spreading to the world of basketball.  Will baseball be next?  (Just checked Drudge, the answer is yes)  NASCAR?  Probably not, it is hard to kneel while driving a car.

I only hope that the librarians of America don’t start getting political in this way.  I would hate to boycott the public library.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-167: Headlines: The Segregationists Are Back

I am almost ready to visit the grave of MLK and see if the ground is registering any earthquake waves.  I keep seeing headlines about institutions of dubious learning having separate graduations for minority students.  For years I have been hearing about how black students were allowed to have their own dorms and student union buildings.  I have waited for the voices of racial equality and reconciliation to raise their unanimous voices of protest.

Crickets.  In small letters.  With the mute button on.

Has everyone but the white middle class lost their minds?  Do the Black Codes suddenly sound like a good idea again?  Are we now supporting a Revised Black Code?  Are we looking for a new name for Jim Crow?  Maybe the next goal is to establish all white neighborhoods so that our black citizens won’t feel threatened.  It is a strange day when the KKK, Nation of Islam, ACLU and Aryan Nation all agree on a program.

Wake up people.

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-202: Critical Thinking Skills

It is really easy to get carried away when evaluating other people.  Jesus warned us about the tendency when He uttered what has become the mantra of millennials, “Judge not”.  The problem He was addressing was the way in which we are critical of the faults of others while we ignore our own weak points.  It would be like a blind man criticizing the hearing of a deaf man. 

What areas do I find a need to practice humility?  What areas do I find myself being critical when I don’t have a leg to stand on?  The problem is that we rarely see our own weak spots because, well, they are weak spots.  So where do I start feeling self-righteous?

I start feeling holier than thou when I see people who have not lost weight.  I watch them struggle to walk or driving their little electric carts.  I am probably a bit jealous because the electric carts look like fun.  So far I have been able to ignore that fact that my weight continues to creep up.

I feel very spiritual when I see people watching TV.  I don’t watch TV and that makes me superior.  Of course my wife, who does watch TV, points out that I spend a lot of time on my computer and when she catches me with a You Tube segment wants to know what is the difference between that and TV. 

That brings up another point of superiority.  I don’t answer stupid questions, specifically questions that question my superiority. 

I am sure that other people are aware of many other areas I need to develop humility.  For the moment I have enough to work on.

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-7: Middle Class Morality: Real Tolerance

Americans are an incredibly tolerant people.  I refer to the real meaning of tolerance.  Tolerance is the willingness to put up with people you do not like or agree with.  It is extending them the courtesy that is due because they are also human beings.  It does not mean approving or supporting in any way.  It does not mean condoning criminal behavior because it is politically correct.  Well mannered endurance is a better way of describing it.

This is a Christian value that actually comes from the Old Testament law of the Jews.

(Leviticus 19:18 KJV)  Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

It is the bedrock of how a Christian relates to people of different beliefs,

(1 Peter 3:15 NAS77)  but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

This is why the original thirteen colonies were able to unite into a single republic.  Each one thought of themselves as an independent, sovereign nation and yet they were able to give that up and work together in spite of their differences.  Tolerance is the heart of the federal system which is being suborned by the elitists of today.

We are a tolerant people because we are founded on the teachings of the Bible.  Tolerance became a middle class value because of that.  It still remains dominant but the attempt to remove the Christian influence is slowly eroding it.

If we reject this middle class morality we will soon be like Iraq, Syria, Spain, Rwanda and any other of the countries split by tribal hatred and racially centric thinking. 

Viva la middle class morality.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-247: Shower Thoughts: Molding the Future

I have a problem.  It is called procrastination.  There are few things that I cannot put off until tomorrow.

I have finally come to realize something that neatniks have always realized:  It is easier to remove filth if you get it early.  That means today, not tomorrow.  This applies to the black gunk under the rim of the toilet.  It applies to the black gunk on the grout in your shower.  It applies to the plaque and tartar on your teeth.  Ask your dentist it you don’t believe me, about your teeth, not your toilet.

I have found that you need to keep ahead of the destructive mold of your life.  We as conservatives need to get a handle on this.  We conservatives tend to be a tolerant, live and let live bunch.  In spite of the bad press and lies of the left, it is the conservatives that put up with abuse.  We don’t have near as much gay bashing as we have conservative mashing. 

We need to get over it.  If you don’t slap the mosquito quick it will draw your blood.  Cockroaches are like lightening.  We need to get used to speaking up and not backing down.  We need to understand that after you give a Progressive half of your loaf in a compromise the next step for them is to look at what you have left and say you need to share again.

This is a reminder to conservatives:  We cannot relax.  The only way you can win is to keep attacking every little glimmer of mold.  Vote the suckers out.  Sue them.  Impeach them.  Confront them at the PTA.  Argue with them in line for groceries.  Make them actually fear us rather than patronize and spit on us.

Old stains are hard to get out without scissors.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-180: Headlines: Incest, Anyone?

The slippery slope.  The domino effect.  Monkey see, monkey do.  Keeping up with the Joneses.  It started with the sexual revolution.  Now incest is pushing for acceptance.

Sure it is one judge.  Sure it is in Australia.  But now we have a voice calling to make incest acceptable.  The article, linked from Drudge, is called “Australian judge says incest may no longer be a taboo.” 

Once society begins throwing out traditional moral values there will be no end.  Today we assume sex before marriage.  Divorce is common.  Children without fathers are moving toward majority status.  We are endorsing homosexuality.  Now we have a voice being raised in favor of incest.  Sex with children is just around the corner.  Soon you will be able to consider an animal your sex partner. 

You say, “It will never happen.”  You said that about homosexual marriage just a few years ago.

Remember, it wasn’t the barbarians that brought down Rome.  They still had armies.  They still had the technology.  They still had the wealth.  It was inner decay.  It was a society that abandoned its moral principles.  We are raising the barbarians in our homes and lowering the bar in our behavior.

Stay tuned.

homo unius libri

Opus 2013-112: Cornerstone Considerations: D of I, Truths: Irresistible Change

I was raised with the words of Jesus, “Turn the other cheek...” ingrained into my being.  My father could lose his cool but it took a lot to set him off.  I worked construction with him for years and I never heard him cuss, swear or take the name of the Lord in vain.  He set an example. 

As a result, I tend to put up with things longer than is logical.  I was literally bullied for a year and a half in elementary school before I learned that bullies are cowards and by pushing back I could set myself free.  I’m talking real, old fashioned bullying.  It involved physical violence and coercion, not just the little hurt feelings that are labeled bullying today.  I find myself feeling the pain of the Founding Fathers.

“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed.” 

We put up with a lot.  Let’s face it, if we have read the founding documents we know that we have every right to rebel based on their standards.  I will get to the specifics eventually, but the colonists put up with a lot.

In the same way, we put up with a lot.  In general that is a good thing.  I lot of people would die ugly deaths and suffering would be greatly multiplied if we were not a patient people.  That is one of the reasons that the tribal cultures are so far behind in development.  They tend to take any slight and turn it into a killing offense.  That response generates feuds and generational hatreds.  It is destructive.

So don’t expect people to change.  We are patient.  We believe in giving people a second chance.  And a second.  And a third.  Jesus said seven times seventy.  The ones who should be worried are the leaders who have exceeded even that measure, who continue to stomp on people, whittle away at our liberty and demand more special privileges for themselves.  There are many people who are not as patient as I have been.  Someday they will be pushed too far.  The straw will break the camels back.  There will be Hell to pay.

Let us hope that the necessary changes come before the fuse gets to the keg.  They didn’t come in 1776.  Pray for a different result in 2013.

homo unius libri