Opus 2015-28: Where Is Lilly Tomlin When You Need Her?

According to the internet, it was Chico Marx in Duck Soup who came up with the line, “Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?”  This has been improved to, “Who are you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?”

It is a joke that has become reality.

I continue to marvel at how the foundations of this declaration are constantly being laid in my classroom.  I am sure I have said it before:  The hardest thing for me to accept and adjust to is the casual and consistent ease with which students lie to me on a regular basis.  If I were not a Christian and acknowledge the sinful nature I would be surprised.  I am still constantly disappointed.  A young man or woman with all the appearances of being a wonderful human being will be chewing gum.  It is clearly visible as a yellow, green or blue mass, sometimes hanging out their mouth.  I ask them to get rid of it.  They look at me with Oscar winning sincerity and say, “I don’t have any gum.”

It starts here.  It continues on through life.  At some time in our life we have all been taken in by a smooth sales technique.  We hear constant commercials that make claims that have been cleared by the legal department but are designed to deceive.  We have people running for political office that rival the sincerity of my gum chewing students. 

The battle continues.  Honesty, integrity, truth and all of the results of such standards are being flushed down the toilet of our culture.  I can’t change the entire culture.  You don’t have much more power.  What I can do is clean up my back yard and encourage others around me to do the same.  I can also remind people who call themselves Christians that the Ten Commandments tell us,

(Exodus 20:16 KJV)  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

If that doesn’t do it for you then let me remind you,

(Revelation 21:8 KJV)  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

We all agree that Hitler is burning in Hell.  We have others we condemn to that fate, but notice what is tagged on at the end of the list:  liars.

Church, take it seriously.  God does.  World, you will also be held accountable, not by me but by whatever you will acknowledge was the Prime Mover of the Big Bang.

As Lilly Tomlin would say, “And that’s the truth.”

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-27: Change Agents

How many people are there that bring change my way?

The most frequent change agents at this time in my life are my children.  They keep forcing new technology my way.  The latest is a blue tooth speaker that works with no wires and runs for hours on one battery charge.  I am just beginning to explore the possibilities.  They also run up against the trends in the wider working world.  It gives a lot of topics for discussion and thought.  Since I trained them I know their depth and integrity so when they question me it is an automatic time to stop and consider.

Then you have the students at school.  Granted, most of their ideas are nothing to record in your diary, who really cares what “the bomb” means this week to a middle school student?  It will change next week.  I can’t keep up with the hair styles because my hair doesn’t grow fast enough to keep changing that often.  At the same time they do drop things in front of me that, if I am reluctant to pick them up, can at least be examined for possibilities.  You have to run fast to get ahead of them, stay out of their way and sidestep their foolishness.  It keeps you young, if you survive. 

Then there is my friendly neighborhood philanthropist.  He is older than me if you can accept that and keeps bringing new ideas to the table.  Okay, so a lot of them are old and worn out.  But some are cutting edge.  He introduced me to 3D printing.  He has been talking about something called “energy harvesting.”  He is the one who got me to read Atlas Shrugged. 

Who jump starts your thinking?  The key is not having contributions.  Ideas are all around you.  The challenge is the same one that my middle school students have:  Listening.  One of the reasons that the United States has been a world leader is that we have always been diverse.  This is not a new idea thought up by the multi-cultural crowd, although they are striving to own it while they redefine it to mean anti-American.  There is a cross pollination that comes about when people from different worlds can share and stimulate thinking.  The possibilities are endless.  It is what America has always been about and the liberals are trying to stomp out.  

Are you a change agent in someone else’s life?  Are you open to change in your life?  Not all change is good but you never know until you consider it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-26: The Latest Should Be Reserved for the News

One of the common put-downs that we hear is produced by someone with a new idea who wants to belittle someone else who doesn’t want to change.  They will say, “Get with it.  This is the 21st century.” 

We hear it all the time.  A few years ago it was, “But this is the 20th century.”  It is like the 21st century is something really different, as if everything is really new.  I have news for you.  A good steak to Caesar Augustus would be recognized as a good steak today.  Plato boiled eggs the same way and at the same temperature as you do today.  Some recipes have been handed down hundreds of years and are still excellent. 

Much has endured through the ages.  You still inhale and exhale.  Blood still follows its course in your veins, and if you can believe it, in the same direction.  Don’t get caught up on it being the 21st century.  Solomon had a comment.

(Proverbs 24:21 NAS77)  My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those who are given to change;

The concern is not change itself but change for the purpose of change. 

How does this work out in practice?  Let’s take a simple example that we all deal with, clothing styles.  Styles change.  It is a fact of life.  No one wants to be out of style.  The person addicted to change is always out with a compulsive desire to have the latest.  These are the people who keep all those clothing and shoe stores open in the mall.  The person who is balanced will replace items that wear out and not refuse to go with the new style.  You can get used to almost anything.  The difference is the reason and the compulsion. 

So no, I don’t need the latest health food plan.  I don’t care about the latest dance craze or music style.  I don’t need a new text book written to teach algebra.  I don’t need a new curriculum at school.  I don’t need a new government plan to end poverty.  I don’t need a new I-Phone.  The latest version of Windows probably won’t work.

Some things endure if allowed to.  The Bible is eternal.  The Constitution is a step down from that but still a solid document.  The definition of marriage has worked for thousands of years.  Salt, milk, eggs, and meat have kept generations alive. 

Get a grip.  Keep a balance.  The 22nd century is just around the corner.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-25: Headlines: Today Foie Gras, Tomorrow School Lunches

First, let me be clear:  I don’t have a horse in this race.

Or you could say I don’t have a dog in this fight.

Either way, I have never had foie gras in my stomach.  The very thought makes me want to vomit.  However, as much as I disagree with your taste buds, I will fight to the death your right to exercise them.  Really?  No, not really.

Evidently foie gras is legal again in California.  I don’t think it is worth your while to read it but I got a lot of hits when I looked for in at the on line edition of the Washington Times.  To the media this is a big story.  It was covered by the the L.A. Times, Huffington Post and even Fox.  I had to go to the second page to find the listing for the Washington Times.  I hope you appreciate my diligence. 

For you Philistines out there, foie gras is a fancy name for goose liver pate.  It is a rich man’s liverwurst.  Evidently the animal rights people were concerned that the geese were being force fed to fatten their livers.  The legislature in the People’s Republik of Kalifornia passed a law making it illegal to sell in the Republik.  There was no mention of how this effected the sale of Peking Duck.

My favorite paragraph was

“The law went into effect in 2012 after legal challenges failed, but it was habitually undermined by restauranteurs who continued to serve foie gras, saying they were not selling it but giving it away as a gift, which is not prohibited under the law.”

Not easily deterred, the Republik’s Attorney General is being urged to appeal the ruling.

If the real issue was being force fed then maybe these patriotic and civic minded citizens would want to take up the issue of Michelle Obama trying to force federally mandated lunches down the throats of America’s children.

The Komedy of Kalifornia Kontinues.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-24: Gun Totting Teachers?

I would not carry a weapon at school even if I could, but I think the campus would be safer if I were allowed to do so.

I don’t think I am alert enough or physically coordinated enough to carry a gun in a crazy environment like a school.  The kids get away with too many things I don’t see as it is.  I am not sure that one of them could not sneak the gun away from me and do something stupid.  I know my limitations. 

I would feel safer if I were allowed to keep something in my car.  I would feel safer if I were allowed to have a gun safe in my room.  I am not really worried that I would ever need either one but I think it would make things even safer.  Ignorant thugs who shoot up schools and malls do so with the assumption that no one will shoot back.  As soon as someone shoots back they tend to lose their focus.  I have noticed that these kinds of massacres do not happen at shooting ranges or in gun stores.

But what do I know?  I am only a history teacher who observes the past and has a feel for cause and effect.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-23: We Need a Tsunami

William Wilberforce has come up in my life several time this week.  He is one of the great men of history.

If you are not familiar with the name it is because you went to a modern public school.  He used to be a regular part of the curriculum until the Progressives (aka, liberals, Democrats, socialists, Communists, Rinos) in education got fixated on removing the roots of western culture from our teaching.  Wilberforce, more than any other man, was responsible for ending slavery in the world.  He was contemporary with the founding of our country.  He was a member of the British parliament and battled to end slavery for 30 years before the slave trade was banned in the British Empire.  Shortly after he died slavery itself was made illegal.

Where are the Wilberforce’s today?  Where are the men and women who are motivated to bring righteousness to the streets, businesses, legislatures and living rooms of our nation?  Are they out there in the wings, working quietly and making a difference?  Have they been stifled and stigmatized out of existence?  Where are the people who can have a glorious cause, invest their lives in it and not sell out?

They are not coming from Hollywood.  They are not coming from the DNC or RNC.  I don’t see them in academia.  If they are in the church they have been muzzled.

What motivated Wilberforce?  He was a member of the gentry.  He was part of the privileged class that lived like spoiled, pampered children in a decedent age.  He was known at one point for the parties he through.  What focused his life?  Jesus.  Yes, he had a “come to Jesus moment.”  It transformed the playboy into a history changer.  It set him free from sin and as a result set millions free from slavery.  He was mocked and belittled for his faith and his mission.  He reached down into something deeper than himself and kept his eye on the prize.

He transformed the world as we know it.

We need a wave of righteous leaders, a tsunami of righteousness if you will. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-22: Speed Dull

Are knives dulled more quickly by plastic cutting boards?

As I fight my diabetes-nurturing weight I am learning to do more than make baloney sandwiches.  One of the big parts of my diet is salad.  I do a lot of cutting, pealing and chopping.  I have come to appreciate good knives.  I have learned to try to keep them sharp.  A dull knife is a dangerous knife.

Keeping them sharp involves a sharpener, obviously, but even more.  There is an intermediate step of honing.  It looks like a steel rod.  It has a handle on one end and a rough surface.  You strop the knife on a regular basis and it keeps it sharp longer.  Simple and effective.

I have been noticing something and I am wondering if it is my imagination.  I use different types of cutting boards.  At one point my wife was getting fussy about the wooden boards so I started using some made of plastic.  It seems to me that the knives get dull faster using the plastic than they do with wood.

Fact or fiction?

homo unius libri