Jen and Ollie’s questions were:
1.Have you ever been skydiving?
yes, and I have video to prove it. I would also love, love, LOVE to do it again sometime.

2.What’s the worst excuse you have ever made to get out of work?

Long long ago when I was in school still, I claimed my father was very ill and I needed to visit him, but he got better. (He was never ill. I still feel a bit guilty about such a bold lie. I blame being a 17 year old jerk at the time)

3.Skyclad or Clothed?

For ritual in a group, I prefer clothed, but have had some very wonderful rituals skyclad (sweatlodge, etc) and do not mind it at all if it’s appropriate or important to the others in group.

4.How many pairs of shoes do you own?
If you count slippers. Four (4). One pair of work shoes, one pair of sneakers, a set of sandals, and a pair of fuzzy slippers for cold nights.

5.What’s your favourite drink?
REgular everyday drinsk, I love smoothies of all sorts. Anything icy and fruity and yummy. As for alcohol, it’s a toss-up between a good single-malt Scotch or a microbrew lager beer.

6.Name the title of the book nearest to you.
The 2010 Staples office catalog! Oh, wait, you probably mean a real book…. that would be The Druid Magic Handbook.

7.What was your favourite toy as a child?
I’ve always been a big fan of LEGO and other building creative stuff. Even today, with my son, we like to spend hours making little creations and mock-battles between armies of figures and LEGO-things. Beyond that, A Stick. Sticks are awesome instruments of expression and creativity. Ask my Scout leaders, I had a penchant for collecting walking sticks and random sword-sticks, and wand-sticks even for as long as I can remember.

8.Would you ever ride a mechanical bull?

I would love to try, someday, but have never really had the opportunity. One of these days I’ll stumble into a bar with one, and give it a shot.

9.What was your favourite subject in senior/high school?
Physics, definitely. I always loved science, and the practical experiment-driven physics classes I took are some of the best memories I have in school. I was lucky that our teacher was the sort who would ask us about weird hypothesis and then stand back and let groups of us design and impliment an experiment to test out our thoughts. That really helped me learn HOW science worked, much more than simple rote memorization of kinematic equations ever did.

10.Have you ever gone to the store in your pajamas?
Yep, proudly, and probably will do it again next week. I have cool PJs though.

Wizardess Epi’s questions were:
1. What is your favorite dinosaur?
I am partial to a Stegasaurus.

2. What is your favorite gemstone?
It depends on my mood, but Loadstone, or Amethyst, or Bloodstone are probably my favorites, with Pyrite close behind.

3. Does Mercury in retrograde affect you?
Honestly, I do not know. I don’t follow the astrological signs as closely as some, and usually only hear about it in retrospect, when someone else mentions “Bah, so glad Murcury retrograde is over soon”. It might, but I do not associate added stress or such things in my life to Mercury.

4. Owl or lark?
Lark, definitely. Owls are cool, and wise, and powerful and such, but Larks are bight and creative and Merry. Much more useful energies to bring into my life lately.

5. Dogs or cats?
Dogs all the way. Cats are funny, and solitary, and I like social creatures who love you, like Dogs.

6. Hedgehogs or hamsters?
Hedgehogs because they are more unusual, but given the choice, hamsters are cheaper, and I’s much rather prefer fish or a turtle overall.

7. Daisies or roses?
Hmm, somewhat of an unfair question as I like both. I’ll stick with Daisies because they grow wild and beautiful. Roses grow wild too, but have a bad reputaiton for needing much more care and control to grow into the best blooms. Daisies are carefree and bloom in hte fields regardless of what we do. I like that.

8. Squirrels or chipmunks?
Chipmunks for cuteness factor, squirrels for being slightly less destructive to our property.

9. If you could BE a movie star, who would you be?
Natalie Portman, or Jack Black. Ms Portman for being awesome and dedicated to her work (Star Wars excluded) and an all-around good person outside of hollywood. I rspect that, and wish I could have that kind of energy and ethic. Jack Black, because he seems to have lots of fun whatever he does, and doesn’t really care what people think of his image as a “screwball”. (if that makes sense).

10. If you could DO a movie star, who would you do?
Hmm, in my younger years, I would have said Winona Ryder (from Beetlejuice, and yes, I was her age at the time, so thought she was HOT) but now I’d have to say either Jewel Staite, Natalie Portman, or Kate Winslit, or Michelle Yeoh, or maybe Morena Baccarin. (yes, this is exposing my geeky side a bit)

Now my own… hmmm…I’ll go about my favorites, curiosity killed the cat’s questions:
1. Your favorite book?
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams.

2. Your favorite food?
Tough call, but most rice dishes with beans. Borritos with rice, or chili with rice, or simple basmati rice with chickpeas, or… Yum!!

3. Favorite song/band?
Really hard to say, but anything by Gaia consort (particularly “Ravens“), or perhaps Loreena McKennitt’s “All Souls Night” (which still gives me goosebumps when I hear it).

4. Favorite clothes to sleep in?
My PacMan pants! If it’s colder, some random raggety t-shirt also.
5. Favorite first thing to do in the morning?
Sleep more. However, what usually happens is my second-favorite thing, which would be have breakfast and look outside at the things growing and wandering around the backyard.

6. Favorite thing to do before sleeping?
Play an hour or so of a video game if at home…. HOWEVER, (the question said favorite, and I only get to do this a few rare times a year) If out festivaling, then participate in a drum-circle until the wee hours of the morning, then crash with a joyful ache in my arms.

7. Favorite herb?Mint. Specifically the common Mentha spicata or Mentha × piperita. Great flavoring in all sorts of recipes, and grows like a weed, so can be squished underfoot in our yard or picked for tea whenever the muse strikes me in the summer.

8. Favorite Moon phase?Waxing Gibbous, definitely. Shining brightly, lighting the night sky, yet not -quite- at full power. I really like that feeling of “almost” potential.

9. Favorite piece of jewerly?

I do not wear much except my wedding band and a small copper Möbius band ring I made myself (with help from a friendly jeweler). However, My favorite would be a simple beaded ankle bracelet. I have gone through many of them, as I like to use hemp string and wear them until they fall off, then make another at a festival, or as part of a ritual. It’s a little thing, but I feel all sorts of Tribal and Spiritual when I wear one, for some reason, even though I have little “Native” blood in me.

10. Favorite quote?
Hmm, would either be “Nothing is ever what it seems but everything is exactly what it is.” – B. Banzai … or “In a single cup of earth, sings the mystery of the all-expansive universe” – Gaia Consort…. or perhaps “Dare to be naive” – R. Buckminster Fuller

Now for my questions, which is open to anyone who reads this blog. If you made it this far down the Wall-Of-Text, consider yourself a recipient of the Award as well!
1) What is your favorite colour?
2) Which direction do you sleep at night? (head pointing North? West?)
3) Given $5.00 (or equivalent currency) what would you do with it?
4) How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
5) What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
6) Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?

Blessings!

Oh sure, I’ve lit my candles, taken a few moments to admire and appreciate the budding life around me this spring, but there seems to be something missing.   I’ve fallen out of practice with Faerie-Play (for lack of a better word, since Worship seems the wrong connotation, so I’ll say Play, with the same inflection as capital-L-Love is used sometimes) and an attempt to re-strike that relationship gave me a pretty stern chastisement from the Otherkin camp for falling out of practice to begin with.  So, there’s one item on my to-do list this month.

Still, there’s another aspect of the Divine that I would like to re-connect to, and am not sure the best way to do so.   I want to say hello again to the Gods/Goddesses out there, Bored or otherwise.  Essentially, I would like to reaffirm a Path that includes something more discrete than “The Earth/Nature” (intentionally glossing over the depths of defining “Nature”).

I used to be very active in my Lutheran Church, and had a fairly solid understanding of God.  I redefined my concept of that being, and added other names to “Who is God” as I grew older and more pagan-minded. Still, I’ve never gotten really comfortable with other pantheons in popular use among the Pagani.  Celtic culture is really neat, but I don’t connect to Brigit or Lugh.  Norse Asatru is intellectually intriguing, but I have even less of a bond with Thor or Loki other than lip-service.  Likewise, the recent interest in Greek mythology (ala: Percy Jackson books) is fun reading, and scholarly, but I can not consider myself a student of Hellenismos.

I’ve done a bit of research with my family tree, which contains a fair chunk of ancestors deeply involved with PA Dutch Heathenism, and Hex-craft.  Yet again, my dabblings into that practice seem a bit forced and rote, rather than passionate and rewarding.

So,  here I am at a sort of crossroads.    I’ve got my current Practice and Path, which includes drum-circles, and gardening, and a rather down-to-earth subtle appreciation of The World We Live In, but I am feeling called more and more in my meditaitons to look towards Someone/Something.   The problem is I’m not sure who/what that is.

My question to the readership here is:   Other than continued practice with a particular set of Deities, is there a generalized way of opening myself up to inspiration?   As a (really bad) example, would I gather up an anhk and dagger, calling upon Ma’at or Nuit until something answers… or would I simply ask the spirits and Divine to enter in frith, and wait to see what particular name[s] pops into my head?

Of course, I already understand it’s a somewhat selfish question as well, wanting The Gods to start paying attention to Me…  Still, I’m more curious if I could narrow down my list of options for Me to start paying more attention to Them.

How did you find your current Path?

For many, the general story of Jesus being stuck up on a cross (Crucified) and returning to life three days later is one of the core staples of Christian religion.   Yet, many are not aware that the bible itself has a few different descriptions of this important event.

For example, the Gospel of Mark (Mark 15:33-36) reads as follows:

33At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
35When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
36One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
37With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

Matthew (Matthew 27:45), as well, recounts an anguish-filled ending for the Messiah, with the crowd and the guards mocking him. (Mathew also adds that there was a terrible earthquake and things happening as He died, whereas Mark says the Curtain of the Temple was torn asunder and it was dark, as if cloudy or an eclipse.)

Now, in contrast this this heart-wrenching suffering of Jesus, where he died feeling a sense of Ultimate Suffering, is Luke 23:42-46

42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Jesus’ Death
44It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

John (John 19:28) recounts a slightly less dramatic ending, where Jesus simply accepts his fate as was foretold, and dies quietly, and never mentions any large supernatural rumblings afterward.

²⁸Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. ³⁰When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

I find it terribly interesting, that if the Gospels are “taken as gospel” (and that this phrase means essentially “really truly True”, there is such differing opinion on the nature of what is probably the most important event in Christian scripture.

Unless you are a literalist, which I find a strange way of viewing the Bible anyway, it seems that each apostle filtered events to slant His story to a particular audience.   John appears the most unbiased reporter.   Matthew and Mark seem to sensationalize the event like a tabloid newspaper.   Luke spreads more of a message of hope and compassion, describing a calm Jesus reassuring another criminal of his place in Heaven, and gently offering his soul to God willingly.

Interesting, eh?

Technically, it is more related to a personality trait called self-transcendence. Self-transcendence “reflects a decreased sense of self and an ability to identify one’s self as an integral part of the universe as a whole.“

http://www.livescience.com/health/spirituality-brain-link-100211.html

My thoughts on this study are a bit divided. On one hand, it’s always kinda interesting to me how Science keeps tapping away at the walls of our unknown in search of the hollow passages and studs behind them.

On the other hand, while the physiology is described here as a deficit, could it not be that lessened Ego is actually better, and those unspiritual types are less adapted? (like having webbed feet, which are cool, but not most efficient at perambulating around town?)

I still think there’s not enough details here to really base a potential-filled claim like “Brain Bits that cause Spirituality” so I’ll simply choose to ignore and gloss past that particular facet of the headline. The study itself holds some nugget of muse-worthiness at least.

Food for thought, but I’m not sure of there’s empty calories here, or whole grains.

However, the more I am studying up on UU principles, the more I fear that initial “Yay My Group!” feeling I had towards them is shifting to a sideways “eh, nice group” feeling.

It is nothing against the church. The services are varied and interesting, and welcoming of all manner of faiths. Over the weeks I’ve met a “hardcore wiccan” and a muslim from Pakistan who all meet up for community and fellowship each sunday. The coffee-chatter time is enlightening, as are the somewhat open-ended “sermons”. Yet, for myself, that openness does not fill the void I am finding in my spiritual practice.

I initially started ‘going to church’ again in order to help my son experience a faith-based community and education. In this regard, things are Great. For myself, the lack of steady ritual, beyond a simple candle-lighting, feels almost shallow. As if there is definitely spirit there, but not quite the Divine Spirit (capital S).

I am thinking the flow and content of the services is intentional, to allow for all faiths to pray as they see fit, and the vague wordings towards “Spirit” or “Higher Power” are well suited for personal perspective. Yet, in allowing all paths in, the road is over-broad and unrestrained.

I find I miss my old Lutheran services, or at least parts of them. The hymns, the processions, and the Pageantry of it all is distinctly lacking in the UU church (by design?). Yet it is what which drew me to serve as an assistant minister as a youth. I felt the power and draw of United Ritual, and knew it to be Godly.

Later, when my Path led be outside definitive Christianity, I simply changed the image of God in my head. I realized, deep down, I still held on to the appeal of Ritual.

Perhaps this is why I love drum-circles so much. While the rhythms and ‘songs’ are spontaneous, there is an almost standardized “flow” to them that seems ritualized, regardless of the participants. Likewise, some of my most powerful Spiritual Experiences have been during a more formalized ritual.

Going back to the topic of the UU church, I still get the sense that there are groups operating within the UU congregation/community, but have not integrated with them yet to feel welcome and invited. Almost every weekday, the church has something happening, yoga, Spiral Scouts, CUUPS, garden club, Bingo night, etc.

I still feel there is some potentized Spirit available within that church community, if I can shed my “visitor” feeling. However, the actual sunday services have gone from being spiritual meetings to Community meetings. This does not discredit them for what they are. It merely took me a few months to realize my own goals were slightly different than what I originally sought out by going to Church.

In summary, I’m discovering that I still need to find a “church” outside of “church”.

To participate, state your own religion (or irreligion) as your first preference, state the other religions that interest you most as your second and third preferences, then pass onto five others. If you’re feeling brave, say why they interest you.

My answers to follow.

Browsing the Blog-o-sphere, there are many awesome answers to this, so I feel somewhat redundant and like I’m saying the same thing here, or at least redundant, in my answers, but here goes:

Interestingly enough, while I think the entire Search for Spiritual Truth is interesting in it’s many manifestations, the most interesting general “religion” to me is Atheism.
The reason for this is probably that the concept as a [non]spirituality is so foreign to me that it intrigues me to no end. When growing up, I’d love getting into a deep and involved discussion on the lack of a Divine with anyone I could wrestle into chatting with me.
(Aside: I almost have to put Agnostics in a different category than Atheists. I know two very “Devout Agnostics” who reconcile themselves that the Divine is unknowable but not yet not unproven, which to me still has a slight Spiritual Path involved, even if simply cloaked in the term “Morality and Ethics”. Spiritual here being a path of self-improvement. I may be missing the connotation of the words and context of the original Meme though so I’ll stop digressing.)

All other religions of the world, from Hindu, to Asatru, Yazdi, to Gypsy, all have at their core a belief in Something Other. The names and practices are changed across the spectrum, and the Myths are sometimes as immiscible as oil and water. Yet at their heart, most spiritual practice, by definition, contain the concept of Other. This I understand, and can relate to both intellectually in studying their trappings and ritual, and on a deeper harmonic level as a facet of Truth.

The true Atheists. Scientists or otherwise, totally baffle me.
In college I was a physics and astronomy major, and I ascribe to the Scientific Method with the best people. Yet even as I can quote kinematic equations and offer Darwinian experiments to explain evolution, I can not distance myself from the idea that Life and Love resonate beyond the physical world. We are bundles of neurons and biochemical flesh-sacks, yes, but we are also Alive and Divine.

My own Religion is something that probably could be called Christian Mystic Druid Pantheist Pagan. If you want more details, I’ll mirror Nettle’s comments and say there’s a whole bloggy Archive here on this very site. Feel free to browse it!

Also, as per the meme, I should pick two more Religions that interest me. For this, I’ll choose the Catholic Church, for being immensely popular yet strange to me for it’s guilt-ridden focus and exclusivity clauses. Third choice would be the eastern practices of Shinto/Zen, mainly because they sound so interesting and useful for day-to-day living, but are so different from my western upbringing that they feel “false” when I try to practice their tenants.
Yet here again I seem to be repeating Nettle’s answer regarding dogmatic vs Gnostic religions. I think the quest for Personal Growth is a universal drive among us humans, and it’s all pretty interesting from a cerebral standpoint to consider the myriad methods that different groups have formed that drive into a collective culture, which is what Religion is at it’s heart. Religion is the trappings and ritual and beliefs laid over the Searching-for-Divinity that I call Spirituality.

Similar terms, but much different connotation in my mind. It’s all semantics, and you are welcome to argue them anytime.

I so totally want to go see this movie the more I read about it.   This link was sent to me by a kindly lady at work to warn me that Sendak appears to be a rude SOB and it’s a scary movie potentially inappropriate for my son.    I read the interview, and am actually more willing to take him now.

In summary:

Ever since the media got word of the film, reporters have hounded Sendak, Eggers, and Jonze. One of the main questions reporters are asking is, Will this film based on one of the best children’s books of all-time be appropriate for children?

Reporter: “What do you say to parents who think the Wild Things film may be too scary?”

Sendak: “I would tell them to go to hell. That’s a question I will not tolerate.”

Reporter: “Because kids can handle it?”

Sendak: “If they can’t handle it, go home. Or wet your pants. Do whatever you like. But it’s not a question that can be answered.”

The main issue I see, is concerned parents being actually interested in the movie and wanting to apply their filters to anything inappropriate or not.   This is a good thing, and it is beyond MY ability to say if your particular filter deems one thing or another “bad”.

The author seems to be thinking along those lines (but being particularly witty/snarky/pompous in his wording). He can not tell one person if this movie is inappropriate or not.  And if it is found to be “bad” to a particular person, it is not his fault.

The other subtext here is one of overprotective parenting.  I myself have steered my child away from some topics.  He isn’t going to be watching “Saving Private Ryan” this year, even if it would foster a discussion on war, or social injustice, or bravery.    Yet  think I’ve tried to be  open enough to let him try new things and offer to discuss his thoughts afterwards.

It’s a fine line, we parents try to tread, but I agree with the author’s (presumed) point here.  They made a movie about being a kid, not a movie For kids.  It’s not his job to then tell us parents if it’s appropriate or not.

I agree that for many, the concept of initiation in simply a membership into a group.  This pans out when you look at the accepted Definition of the term:

I think many people forget part C.2 above, where the initiate is “invested with a particular function or status“.   Initiation is both for the benefit of the group being joined, as well as the person joining.   It is a sort of liminal, transitional, empowering state.

For myself, I was active in the local Boy Scouts of America program in my youth.  One facet of that organization is a sub-group called “Order of the Arrow“. You do not apply for this group, you are invited.  (The mission statement for this group: The mission of the Order of the Arrow is to fulfill its purpose as an integral part of the Boy Scouts of America
through positive youth leadership under the guidance of selected capable adults.)

It is steeped in a cloak of not-quite-authentic Native American symbolism and pseudo-morality, but I’ll forgive that since I never considered it when I was first made a member.  At that time, it was the “cool mysterious group who got to go on extra camp-outs and do more stupid work-projects in the community“.

The group itself had a number of ritual trappings, from the dramatic “invitation” itself, to a number of service-oriented events.  Yet the one thing I really connected with was the “initiation” camping trip.   As Sandy mentions, a Good Initiation prepares the initiate. They do not simply join up.   The initiate is held accountable for their actions and decision.

In my case, the invitation was made, I attended the usual initiate’s camping trips, complete with a bit of good-natured hazing, but also with lots of personal decision making.  We were given a history of the group, told what to expect, and then told to find a project to work on.

It’s a classic example, in my mind, of how “leadership training” should work.  We weren’t given projects, we were told to go find a project and complete it. The details of what project, necessary materials, and even what constitutes a project, were left unsaid.  The initiate had to organize the pool of non-initiates, formulate a plan to complete something, and then do it.

The end result of this, which was felt to be “stupid making us do all the work” by some, was that those who finished all the tasks requested of them, were able to undergo the Initiation and join the ranks of this leadership council.

To those of us who did it, more than one of us realized in hind-sight that after all we did, we already were in the club.  The ordeals and lessons and challenges provided to us just helped us realize that fact.

And in realizing it, that was the shift.

The big ceremony afterward was more for the group and those spectators attending it.  To the initiate, the ‘lines of energy’ were already set  in place.   We were initiated, and then just had to formalize it in a ritual setting to let the others know.  

A young boy is playing a video game, involving the usual slaughter of fantastic creatures and gaining more and more power.  The character portrayed assembles a collection of allies to help fight, including a tall dark-skinned desert-warrior with a staff, and a strange moon-creature with a machine gun.

In this game, the characters carry a supply of water, which slowly is reduced over the course of play, and can be refilled by stepping into clear puddles, or purchasing in-game bottles of water.

Consider the fact that when they first join the party, the Desert dweller has a moderate ‘water supply’ limit, and can hold a few quarts of water before any special items increase that maximum.   The moon creature can only hold a small bottle.  This means the moon creature must use some special items to increase this water-limit, or risk taking more damage (due to thirst) or carrying a lot of inventory bottles to refresh the small amount he holds.

The kid smiles as this last character joins the group, and excitedly turns to his parents to confide in a conspiratorial stage-whisper that “the Desert guy obviously had more water since in the desert you need to carry water a lot and there’s not much room in the moon suit, right? Right? Cool, huh!”

Multiple choice test for all you readers.  No right answers, but I’d like you to honestly consider and discuss WHY you may choose a particular result.  (and yes, it’s biased, but that is intentional)

What are your thoughts on the above situation?

A)  Why is a kid playing so many video games? Running around killing imaginary things is not good lessons to learn.  Go outside and play!

B) Why is a kid playing so many video games?  Yes, they are fun, but you could be doing crafts and other family oriented activities.

C) That’s nice, but now turn off that game, and lets hit the Library to research Desert peoples, and the scientific feasibility of actually living on the barren moon.

D) You know, the kid’s pretty bright, to have made such a connection at something like a simple Video Game.  Do you sit and play with him, or just let him do his own thing until he asks for help?

E) Nice observation! Lets talk about deserts and moons (see # C) tomorrow after school.

…

…

Your grade, according to the local community educational institution, is apparently the letter of the choice you made.    Need a re-test?   :/

I’m guilty of it too, but why is it that people are so frikkin afraid of thinking for themselves?  Related topic: why are Debate clubs and such seen is such a negative light by the “cool kids” and harbor suck a “geeky” label?  Heck, in that regard, why are Geeks/nerds shunned so in our younger years when those same types often turn around and be “successful” on the corporate community?

I digress.

As a gamer, I enjoy the playing and discussion of various electronic games in various formats.   Yet all across the internet, stating a preference for one game almost invariably results in hostile commentary in the forms of “Us vs Them” from other game-preferring crowds.  Even among the same game (such as World of Warcraft) one faction is all but universally reviled as “the enemy” from players of the opposing faction.

Tobold makes a few points more related to this topic here: http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2009/09/art-of-discussion.html

Likewise, the recent speech by our president is shrouded in all sorts of “news-worthy” drama and incidents of blatantly ignorant avoidance. (ignorant in my opinion, which I do also understand follows my own Us Vs Them complaints).

Some schools refused to broadcast the event, to appease protesting parents and avoid in-fighting between the supporters and opposers of our President.  To me, this totally goes AGAINST the message itself.   His message was not controversial, unless I’m just failing to see how “Work hard, do better” is controversial.

Granted, Sharon Astyk mentions that perhaps the common school -> college -> consumer-job -> house+car+stuff is not the best option, but I still think that the message from our president was broad enough to work.  Hard work = good results. In today’s society, at least, school is still a very good indicator of opportunity.  What gets my goat is that some schools refused to show it, out of fear or something, in order to appease those who disagreed.

In my opinion, school is about learning.   Learning is more than just 2+2=5 [sic], or that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 14-hundred 92.  It is about thinking bout things, and being exposed to (without being force-fed) concepts you disagree with, in order to figure out for yourself Why you disagree.

Even if your dream is to be a street-corner prophet, having a basic grade-school education will help your plans and influence public opinion more than a being a drop-out.

In my own life, our elementary school cut recess last year. The state mandates Phys-Ed (gym) a certain amount of time per day.  This didn’t fit the schedule so they cut free play-time.  For High-schoolers, this isn’t an issue, but for my own kindergarden child, I and many other parents protested. We lost, since the decision was that Gym was active time too. (I still disagree and the war’s not over…)

Yet there again is the point I’m thinking here.   Did you read any of the above examples and feel either a smug agreement or a trickle of bile at my “wrongness”?

Why is it that many topics, from games, to real philosophical issues, can be so hard to discuss fairly and intelligently?  Do our ape-subroutines kick in that hard, and emotions naturally still rule over rationality?

No wonder we are where we are at.  Such huge strides in some cultural sectors, such slow ruts in others.

Your thoughts?