Three Word Transitions
March/15/2010 11:01 Filed in: Week in Review | News
"How's that hopey, changey stuff workin' out for ya?"
Well Sarah, it ain’t workin’ that well right now and come to think of it things haven’t worked all that well for quite a while.”
As we have been promoting in our Wonder Springs weekly articles for a number of weeks, change we can believe in is really change we can understand and makes us comfortable. However, if change really is the only constant in the world, then real stupendous change is truly freakin’ scary and it makes us withdraw further into our old sense of security, and we exacerbate the problems. Hence in real reality “Change we can believe in.” is really the enigma of continual angst. To question whether how much of this current change is by design or chance only magnifies the apprehension?
Last week in the Chronicle we looked at a number of religious antitheses to New England Calvinism. Calvinism defines the prime concept of its theology in three words that begin with the letter “G” standing for “Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude. In this week’s “Why Me?” article we will look at similar three word theses, these non-Calvinist and other religious expressions use to express their believe systems.
Watching Glenn Beck last Friday, he unveiled a similar progression to use in his work as he attempts to encourage others to begin to move beyond change we can believe in, as this country attempts to reset the nation on our constitutional foundation. Those three words were “Faith, Hope, and Charity.” These of course come from the old King James - American Revolution era translation of 1 Corinthians 13. Our modern versions use love instead of charity and consequently lose the true perspective of what the Apostle Paul was really saying.
As a Mormon, Beck uses the term charity in its proper context, but I question whether it works with modern American Christian evangelicals who generally think of charity has getting something for nothing, generally from the government, or an NGO (non government organization. Charity in the true sense works within the LDS church because they tithe, consequently there is money to help out those in need, not just as a handout, but also a hand-up.
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Well Sarah, it ain’t workin’ that well right now and come to think of it things haven’t worked all that well for quite a while.”
As we have been promoting in our Wonder Springs weekly articles for a number of weeks, change we can believe in is really change we can understand and makes us comfortable. However, if change really is the only constant in the world, then real stupendous change is truly freakin’ scary and it makes us withdraw further into our old sense of security, and we exacerbate the problems. Hence in real reality “Change we can believe in.” is really the enigma of continual angst. To question whether how much of this current change is by design or chance only magnifies the apprehension?
Last week in the Chronicle we looked at a number of religious antitheses to New England Calvinism. Calvinism defines the prime concept of its theology in three words that begin with the letter “G” standing for “Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude. In this week’s “Why Me?” article we will look at similar three word theses, these non-Calvinist and other religious expressions use to express their believe systems.
Watching Glenn Beck last Friday, he unveiled a similar progression to use in his work as he attempts to encourage others to begin to move beyond change we can believe in, as this country attempts to reset the nation on our constitutional foundation. Those three words were “Faith, Hope, and Charity.” These of course come from the old King James - American Revolution era translation of 1 Corinthians 13. Our modern versions use love instead of charity and consequently lose the true perspective of what the Apostle Paul was really saying.
As a Mormon, Beck uses the term charity in its proper context, but I question whether it works with modern American Christian evangelicals who generally think of charity has getting something for nothing, generally from the government, or an NGO (non government organization. Charity in the true sense works within the LDS church because they tithe, consequently there is money to help out those in need, not just as a handout, but also a hand-up.
Read More...
Edmund Burke – Quote of the week
March/12/2010 10:25 Filed in: Quote of the Week
Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it.
Edmund Burke (1729-1797), was a British Statesman and Philosopher who is generally viewed as the philosophical founder of modern political conservatism.
Week in Review – February 28 - March 6, 2010: Olympic hockey, healthcare, opportunity
March/08/2010 12:10 Filed in: Week in Review
Can you believe it just a week ago last Sunday the winter Olympic Games came to an end? The men’s gold medal hockey game in which the Canadians defeated the USA in overtime was the best final in history. The problem with hockey on television is that it shares with baseball the excitement of watching grass grow, except the grass field has been flooded and frozen into an ice rink. This is contrasted with live games, where speed and subtle moves can make hockey one of the most exciting spectator sports.
At the end of it all, the United States won more metals than any nation in history and the host Canadians won more gold, again setting a record. The games now pit professionals against professionals, which in our age should be because of the dedication required to perform at such a high level of skill.
The same cannot be said of America’s politicians. Sometime this week we expect the final redux of the Democrat’s healthcare reform package. The only thing for sure is that with or without ObamaCare, within a few years American’s will be paying 20 percent of GDP for health services. Then either reform, or reform of the reform, will and should be the nation’s top domestic priority.
It is true that most Americans are happy with their current coverage and don’t want it to change, simply because they get it for free or cheap with their job. So while they can see the doctor of their choice for routine matters, they never really understand the limitations of their current plan if they seriously need something called major medical.
Read More...
At the end of it all, the United States won more metals than any nation in history and the host Canadians won more gold, again setting a record. The games now pit professionals against professionals, which in our age should be because of the dedication required to perform at such a high level of skill.
The same cannot be said of America’s politicians. Sometime this week we expect the final redux of the Democrat’s healthcare reform package. The only thing for sure is that with or without ObamaCare, within a few years American’s will be paying 20 percent of GDP for health services. Then either reform, or reform of the reform, will and should be the nation’s top domestic priority.
It is true that most Americans are happy with their current coverage and don’t want it to change, simply because they get it for free or cheap with their job. So while they can see the doctor of their choice for routine matters, they never really understand the limitations of their current plan if they seriously need something called major medical.
Read More...
Garth Brooks – Quote of the week
March/05/2010 11:08 Filed in: Quote of the Week
I’d rather have nothin’ than a whole lot of somethin’ I don’t need!
Bridge from a Garth Brooks song – Proverb for Federal debt reduction.
Week in Review - February 21-27, 2010: Olympic bobsleds, Chile earthquake, Obamacare
March/01/2010 12:42 Filed in: Week in Review
Three obtusely related things peaked our interest this week. Those three were an episode from the Vancouver Olympic Games, the earthquake in Chile, and Obama’s healthcare summit in Washington DC.
Now you may be asking yourself how these three events are related at all, even if the obtuse modifier is used? The thing that ties together all of our points this week, relate to how people respond to an opportunity or a crisis, in our terms stupendous change.
Our zenith of this report was the results of the four man bobsled event at Whistler in which the United States won its first Gold medal since 1948. While that was a worthwhile achievement, what I found really interesting was what happened after the medals presentation, where the Americans were joined by the Silver medal winning Canadians and the Bronze medal Germans.
Before TV cameras all three teams sort of scrunched together for a group photo and in the process you had over 1000 kilos (2200 lbs.) of competitive alpha males getting up close and personal, all smiling like they sort of liked one another. I have searched for a picture of that happening but it doesn’t appear to have gotten significant press attention.
Chances are that the same countries will be represented in a somewhat similar arrangement in four years, specifics to be determined by differences in probably less than half a second. Furthermore it illustrates the difference between competition and aggression. In our self centered world, the differences between competition and aggression blur our vision, so that aggression has somewhat become a social virtue and we have lost the true understanding of competition as a way to achieve excellence.
Read More...
Now you may be asking yourself how these three events are related at all, even if the obtuse modifier is used? The thing that ties together all of our points this week, relate to how people respond to an opportunity or a crisis, in our terms stupendous change.
Our zenith of this report was the results of the four man bobsled event at Whistler in which the United States won its first Gold medal since 1948. While that was a worthwhile achievement, what I found really interesting was what happened after the medals presentation, where the Americans were joined by the Silver medal winning Canadians and the Bronze medal Germans.
Before TV cameras all three teams sort of scrunched together for a group photo and in the process you had over 1000 kilos (2200 lbs.) of competitive alpha males getting up close and personal, all smiling like they sort of liked one another. I have searched for a picture of that happening but it doesn’t appear to have gotten significant press attention.
Chances are that the same countries will be represented in a somewhat similar arrangement in four years, specifics to be determined by differences in probably less than half a second. Furthermore it illustrates the difference between competition and aggression. In our self centered world, the differences between competition and aggression blur our vision, so that aggression has somewhat become a social virtue and we have lost the true understanding of competition as a way to achieve excellence.
Read More...