Me, me, me, pick me. Me next. Come on, pick me. I'm ready. Pleeeze.
Aren't they precious? They all want to be picked. I keep telling them, "When you're ready."
They just don't understand. They have to be big and black, otherwise I can't take them. Not yet, anyway.
Don't forget where I am, they seem to be saying. I'll be ready by this afternoon. Come back and pick me.
You got to love them. So eager. So full of the juice of life. So tasty.
The black raspberries in my garden are about to drive me crazy with their pleas. I can only take the ripest ones each day, and some days not all of them. My cup runneth over this morning and I had to stop picking. I'll got back this evening, and I know that some I passed over this morning will spend the day getting darker so they can be picked this evening. I really enjoy making them happy.
And tomorrow morning on my breakfast cereal they will make me happy. Don't you just love it when you can be in harmony with nature?
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
BELIEVING DOESN'T ALWAYS MAKE IT SO
You will be surprised at who wrote the following.
The Big Lie - All this was inspired by the principle--which is quite true within itself--that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying.
—Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, vol. I, ch. X[1]
It seems strange to quote Adolf Hitler for anything, but his explanation of the big lie seems to fit the circumstances. And certainly, he was a master of the big lie. So what big lie am I talking about?
A Mr. Calvin Nauman of Rotterdam, NY had an angry letter to the editor in the Schenectady Gazette that caught my eye the other day. It was not because I necessarily disagreed; it was because of his use of the big lie to justify his position.
He wrote, speaking of local columnist Carl Strock, “Carl also seems to get a kick out of making fun of the Christians, and though he claims to have several Bibles, doesn’t seem to believe that there really is a God.” Fair enough, although I am not sure that owning several Bibles is a prerequisite for believing in God. Regardless, if that is Nauman’s belief, then he is entitled to it. He offers no justification for the statement other than his feeling (belief) that Strock “doesn’t seem to believe.”
Nauman, however, writes in his next paragraph, apparently to justify another of his beliefs, “There is mention of God in the constitutions of all 50 states and on our money also. There’s a creator behind it all – Darwin’s theory [of evolution] is a bunch of hogwash.” You have to wonder how this supports his statement that “Carl also seems to get a kick out of making fun of the Christians,” but Nauman must feel that it does and this his position is made stronger by invoking the constitution of “all 50 states and on our money also.”
This is a subtle use of the big lie. Not that what he says is false, but as Hitler noted, All this was inspired by the principle--which is quite true within itself--that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility. Nauman no doubt feels his belief in God is made stronger by injecting the certain force of credibility that all 50 states mention God in their constitutions. No bible needed.
There is safety in numbers. When we want to justify what we believe, we instinctively look for support by turning to friends and colleagues who believe as we do. This does not make our belief true, just more believable, at least to us. The six-year-old who believes in Santa Clause will defend that belief by noting, “All my friends believe in Santa Clause.” And in his or her mind there is the comforting thought: See, they can’t all be wrong, so I must be right to believe as I do.
An adage states that birds of a feather flock together. This should remind us that most of our friends believe as we do because … well, because they believe as we do. Hence, when we are comforted or encouraged in our beliefs because “everyone we know feels that way,” we should stop and ask just how many people we know who feel differently. Our circle of true friends is often much smaller than we may admit.
There are people, like Nauman, who believe the evidence for God is all around us; the evidence is there for those who will open their eyes and minds. That God created the heavens and the earth. He is therefore justified in saying (because that is what he believes) that Darwin’s theory of evolution is a bunch of hogwash. Others feel (believe) he ignores the facts when he denounces Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Neither side will win their argument so long as the foundation for it rests on what they believe.
Invoking the name of 50 states or 50 people does not change that fact.
As a school administrator, I and other administrators often had to deal with “the big lie.” That is, there would be an incident involving two or three students, a fight, say. By the time the angry calls started coming in, the incident involving three students had become multiple incidents involving a great many students. And always, concerned parents reported having heard from several other parents about “these fights” going on at school.
What they had heard was about one fight reported 50 times. The big lie took on credence by virtue of so many people hearing about it from so many others.
Believe what you will. (You will anyway, with or without my approval.) But we should all stop once in awhile and remind ourselves that much of what we hold dear regarding religion, politics, our schools, the boss or that off-base newspaper reporter derives from what we have heard or accepted based on our beliefs -- with support from our circle of friends, of course.
We hear what we want to hear, interpret what we want from what we read, and associate with people of a like mind. Unfortunately, this makes us all susceptible to the big lie.
The Big Lie - All this was inspired by the principle--which is quite true within itself--that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying.
—Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, vol. I, ch. X[1]
It seems strange to quote Adolf Hitler for anything, but his explanation of the big lie seems to fit the circumstances. And certainly, he was a master of the big lie. So what big lie am I talking about?
A Mr. Calvin Nauman of Rotterdam, NY had an angry letter to the editor in the Schenectady Gazette that caught my eye the other day. It was not because I necessarily disagreed; it was because of his use of the big lie to justify his position.
He wrote, speaking of local columnist Carl Strock, “Carl also seems to get a kick out of making fun of the Christians, and though he claims to have several Bibles, doesn’t seem to believe that there really is a God.” Fair enough, although I am not sure that owning several Bibles is a prerequisite for believing in God. Regardless, if that is Nauman’s belief, then he is entitled to it. He offers no justification for the statement other than his feeling (belief) that Strock “doesn’t seem to believe.”
Nauman, however, writes in his next paragraph, apparently to justify another of his beliefs, “There is mention of God in the constitutions of all 50 states and on our money also. There’s a creator behind it all – Darwin’s theory [of evolution] is a bunch of hogwash.” You have to wonder how this supports his statement that “Carl also seems to get a kick out of making fun of the Christians,” but Nauman must feel that it does and this his position is made stronger by invoking the constitution of “all 50 states and on our money also.”
This is a subtle use of the big lie. Not that what he says is false, but as Hitler noted, All this was inspired by the principle--which is quite true within itself--that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility. Nauman no doubt feels his belief in God is made stronger by injecting the certain force of credibility that all 50 states mention God in their constitutions. No bible needed.
There is safety in numbers. When we want to justify what we believe, we instinctively look for support by turning to friends and colleagues who believe as we do. This does not make our belief true, just more believable, at least to us. The six-year-old who believes in Santa Clause will defend that belief by noting, “All my friends believe in Santa Clause.” And in his or her mind there is the comforting thought: See, they can’t all be wrong, so I must be right to believe as I do.
An adage states that birds of a feather flock together. This should remind us that most of our friends believe as we do because … well, because they believe as we do. Hence, when we are comforted or encouraged in our beliefs because “everyone we know feels that way,” we should stop and ask just how many people we know who feel differently. Our circle of true friends is often much smaller than we may admit.
There are people, like Nauman, who believe the evidence for God is all around us; the evidence is there for those who will open their eyes and minds. That God created the heavens and the earth. He is therefore justified in saying (because that is what he believes) that Darwin’s theory of evolution is a bunch of hogwash. Others feel (believe) he ignores the facts when he denounces Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Neither side will win their argument so long as the foundation for it rests on what they believe.
Invoking the name of 50 states or 50 people does not change that fact.
As a school administrator, I and other administrators often had to deal with “the big lie.” That is, there would be an incident involving two or three students, a fight, say. By the time the angry calls started coming in, the incident involving three students had become multiple incidents involving a great many students. And always, concerned parents reported having heard from several other parents about “these fights” going on at school.
What they had heard was about one fight reported 50 times. The big lie took on credence by virtue of so many people hearing about it from so many others.
Believe what you will. (You will anyway, with or without my approval.) But we should all stop once in awhile and remind ourselves that much of what we hold dear regarding religion, politics, our schools, the boss or that off-base newspaper reporter derives from what we have heard or accepted based on our beliefs -- with support from our circle of friends, of course.
We hear what we want to hear, interpret what we want from what we read, and associate with people of a like mind. Unfortunately, this makes us all susceptible to the big lie.
Friday, June 18, 2010
SOME POINTS TO PONDER
FIRST THOUGHT
I was working in my garden this afternoon pulling weeds. We’ve had quite a bit of rain lately and the weeds have grown strong and tall. Not necessarily so with the garden plants, you understand. I had to be careful not to pull up a pepper or tomato plant while weeding, as they were shorter and struggling to reach the sun under the weed canopy.
That started me thinking – always a dangerous pastime. Regardless, my thoughts led me to wonder why in this age of gene splicing that scientists have not been encouraged to find the gene that allows weeds to grow big and strong in dry times while garden plants struggle. Find the gene that enables weeds to be so recklessly extravagant in their growth and transplant that gene into ordinary garden plants and you will become a very rich person, I thought.
You may have heard of Round Up ready soybeans. If not, let me tell you about them. These genetically modified soybeans remain unharmed by Round Up, the herbicide that destroys grass, weeds and other growing plants. It does not affect plants that have not yet sprouted, but when sprayed on a growing plant it penetrates the leaves, travels to the roots and destroys the plant. Round Up ready soybeans, however, are unaffected by Round Up spray after they have reached a certain height. Hence, farmers can plant their soybeans, let they grow until they reach 8-10 inches and then spray the entire field with Round Up. This spraying destroys all weeds while the soybeans keep on growing. The farmer saves time and money by not having to disc the field several times to remove weeds, thus reducing his costs and increasing his profits.
If this sort of gene splicing, creating a gene that specifically rejects the killing effect of Round UP, can be done, why can’t scientists find some way to splice into garden plants the gene or genes that allow weeds to grow whatever the weather? We gardeners would still have to weed our garden plots but the garden plants would now be on an equal footing with the weeds – growing strong during wet periods and staying strong during dry periods.
Frankly, I would like to see Round Up ready garden plants. Plant your tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers and whatever else, and then give them a week or two to become well rooted in their new home. During that time, the weed seeds in your carefully prepared garden will have discovered the warmth of the sun and decide to start growing. Let them. In fact, give them another week or so and then spray the whole garden with Round Up. Voila, no more weeds, just healthy garden plants.
I would pay extra for such plants, wouldn’t you?
SECOND THOUGHT
Isn’t it time we put a stop to the drunk driving nonsense in this country by doing the only sensible thing someone convicted of driving while intoxicated understands – removal of driving privileges?
For the first offense, we might start with removal of license and driving privileges for one month. Too bad if that causes inconvenience for you or your family. If you have to bum a ride to work with a spouse, neighbor or co-worker during that period, that is just too bad. For trips to the movies, grocery store, shopping mall, golf course, or anywhere else, you will enjoy the privilege of being chauffeur driven for one month. You will have 30 days to think about whether you ever want to go through this again.
Should the experience of that lesson be short lived and you have a second conviction for driving while under the influence, you will lose your license and driving privileges for six months! And should you be dumb enough to have a third conviction, you will lose the right to drive a vehicle for life or until you have undergone extensive (and expensive) rehabilitation as determined by the courts.
I’m not finished weeding my garden, so I will likely have more thoughts to share with you in another day or two. Stay tuned.
I was working in my garden this afternoon pulling weeds. We’ve had quite a bit of rain lately and the weeds have grown strong and tall. Not necessarily so with the garden plants, you understand. I had to be careful not to pull up a pepper or tomato plant while weeding, as they were shorter and struggling to reach the sun under the weed canopy.
That started me thinking – always a dangerous pastime. Regardless, my thoughts led me to wonder why in this age of gene splicing that scientists have not been encouraged to find the gene that allows weeds to grow big and strong in dry times while garden plants struggle. Find the gene that enables weeds to be so recklessly extravagant in their growth and transplant that gene into ordinary garden plants and you will become a very rich person, I thought.
You may have heard of Round Up ready soybeans. If not, let me tell you about them. These genetically modified soybeans remain unharmed by Round Up, the herbicide that destroys grass, weeds and other growing plants. It does not affect plants that have not yet sprouted, but when sprayed on a growing plant it penetrates the leaves, travels to the roots and destroys the plant. Round Up ready soybeans, however, are unaffected by Round Up spray after they have reached a certain height. Hence, farmers can plant their soybeans, let they grow until they reach 8-10 inches and then spray the entire field with Round Up. This spraying destroys all weeds while the soybeans keep on growing. The farmer saves time and money by not having to disc the field several times to remove weeds, thus reducing his costs and increasing his profits.
If this sort of gene splicing, creating a gene that specifically rejects the killing effect of Round UP, can be done, why can’t scientists find some way to splice into garden plants the gene or genes that allow weeds to grow whatever the weather? We gardeners would still have to weed our garden plots but the garden plants would now be on an equal footing with the weeds – growing strong during wet periods and staying strong during dry periods.
Frankly, I would like to see Round Up ready garden plants. Plant your tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers and whatever else, and then give them a week or two to become well rooted in their new home. During that time, the weed seeds in your carefully prepared garden will have discovered the warmth of the sun and decide to start growing. Let them. In fact, give them another week or so and then spray the whole garden with Round Up. Voila, no more weeds, just healthy garden plants.
I would pay extra for such plants, wouldn’t you?
SECOND THOUGHT
Isn’t it time we put a stop to the drunk driving nonsense in this country by doing the only sensible thing someone convicted of driving while intoxicated understands – removal of driving privileges?
For the first offense, we might start with removal of license and driving privileges for one month. Too bad if that causes inconvenience for you or your family. If you have to bum a ride to work with a spouse, neighbor or co-worker during that period, that is just too bad. For trips to the movies, grocery store, shopping mall, golf course, or anywhere else, you will enjoy the privilege of being chauffeur driven for one month. You will have 30 days to think about whether you ever want to go through this again.
Should the experience of that lesson be short lived and you have a second conviction for driving while under the influence, you will lose your license and driving privileges for six months! And should you be dumb enough to have a third conviction, you will lose the right to drive a vehicle for life or until you have undergone extensive (and expensive) rehabilitation as determined by the courts.
I’m not finished weeding my garden, so I will likely have more thoughts to share with you in another day or two. Stay tuned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
