An Aid To Memory

I am playing around with a few new formats. We’ll see how they go.

I used to be a “fall guy,” i.e. holding the fall season in the highest regard. I still regard the autumn highly…I mean, who wouldn’t? The fall has Halloween, Thanksgiving, All Saints, All Souls, Apple cider, changing leaves, football season, etc. However, I think the reason I liked it a lot was because the long and arduous high school football season was finally over. Once I got in high school, I never really had a full summer because of football two-a-days, football camp, weight lifting, etc, so for me, the time after the season ended was when I had a high degree of freedom. Now, I am becoming much more of a “summer guy,” enjoying running, golf, hiking, cook-outs, etc. I think it is most accurate to say I love all four seasons, which is why I like the Midwest so much, but I am coming to finally enjoy the summer in the same way the Beach Boys sung about.

I wish everyone a happy Memorial Day. May we never forget those who gave their lives for freedom. Last week some students and I had the privilege of placing flags by veteran’s graves at the local cemetery. We had some go as far back as the Civil War. It reminded me of the sacrifices many good folks have made for our country.

Eternal Rest grant unto them,
O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.

Luther Punk wrote an interesting post about male bonding, and it reminded me that I have been involved in some serious male bonding as of late. Honestly, I think men need time with other males.

For the past few weeks, I have been golfing with some male buddies of mine, including my dad (although Jennifer came along once). I admit I wasn’t too sure how I would like golf, since I only played once from 1994-2006. However, I signed up for a charity golf outing with a buddy of mine (that I exercise with frequently), and thought I should actually practice for it. It turns out I love golf, especially seeing how hard and far I can hit the ball each time (minus putting of course). And it is cool to just hang out with friends on a gold course.

Second, I have been getting into target shooting since December. Last week in the evening I took a firearms safety/pistol training course with three other guys and two instructors. Honestly, it was some of the most fun I have had since high school. It was nothing too academic, nothing too deep, but just some good hanging out with some genuine guys.

Getting into shooting and golf has also had the effect of getting Jonathan and dad into them (or in the case of dad, “back” into them, since he was a pretty active golfer in the 1980s), and it has given us things to do together, along with tennis (which we played a lot of last summer). My dad and I have always had a good relationship, but for awhile it seemed as if Jonathan and I came and went while he watched TV (sometimes with mom). However, now he is out and active, and we are hanging out together. Plus, we all really need the exercise.

It is urban legend that there were twins named “Orangejello and “Lemonjello” (pronounced Or-AHN-juh-lo and luh-MON-juh-lo). However, when I searched for the names recently, I did find some interesting things.

According to Intelius People Search, there are a couple lemonjellos around, including a Lemonjello Jackson in Missouri, a Lemonjello Snarfblat in Arizona, and a Lemonjello Snicket in Georgia. Funny, there is an Orangejello Snicket in the same town in Georgia (Buena Vista). That is the only record of either name I can find in the whole U.S., and honestly the names sound a little suspicious. After all, “Lemonjello Snicket” sounds a little like “Lemony Snicket.” Who knows, maybe there is a “Limejello Snicket” around who is their triplet!

As to the “legend” there are people named “female” (fuh-MOLL-ee), a search in California alone reveals 135. The reason for the name? Supposedly immigrants lacking English skills saw “female” on the birth certificate (or hospital wristband), and thought it was an American custom for the hospital to name babies. Perhaps we’ll never know for sure if these “name legends” are real or not, but they do make for interesting discussion! I am not even going to get into the supposed name “Shithead” (pronounced “Shi-THADE).

Today, I was getting some change out to pay for some things at school, since the DMV drained all my cash ($24.00 for a driver’s license renewal!! It was $11.00 three years ago…why are we electing Republicans if they are going to raise taxes and fees???). At any rate, as I was getting out change I remembered back in 1998 when I was in college, and my dad would give Jonathan and I gas money every so often, and would say “keep the change to eat out on.” We would actually have money left over to spend at local restaurants. That was when gas was 99 cents/gallon. Now, at $3.19, we have no money left over, and that extra $32.85 (2.19 x 15 gallons) per fill up is going to pay super-rich oil execs, oppressive communist leaders, terrorists, and so forth, and NOT our local American business owners. Now if it is costing me 32.85 more per fill up than in 1998, multiply that number times the number of people in the U.S. and you can see how little money is going into the local economy and how much is going into the pockets of a few. Oh…and I am still waiting for the Democrats to do something about high gas prices. Could it be that even the Democrats and celebrities harping about energy issues are themselves unwilling to change their lifestyles significantly, and cannot even fathom life without their private jets or mansions with exorbitant electric bills (think Al Gore). Well at least they are harping I guess, since you can’t seem to convince most Americans that funding the governments of Iran and Venezuela with our oil addiction is a problem.

I covered the Arthur Buford / Damon Wells controversy in Cleveland, so I thought I would update everyone about it. Cleveland is still buzzing from the shooting, and it seems like it has become a chance for Cleveland (and other major urban areas) to deal with the crisis of unsafe neighborhoods. Just today, Arthur Buford’s accomplice is being charged with murder because his criminal actions helped result in Buford’s death. It seems as if Clevelanders are sick and tired of living in neighborhoods controlled by thugs, and many are also tired of the things that lead to this sort of behavior.

Regina Brett wrote an article, Silence of Pain, Harsh, Deafening, that looks at the effect this incident has had on the local community, with some friends of Buford defending him, and others sick and tired of living in fear because of punk-kids just like Buford. What this case does highlight is the failure of Buford’s parents (drug-addicts), and community, to raise him and protect him. And let’s not just blame the “inner city” environment here, because suburban youth are suffering from similar broken homes, and turning to drugs, crime, and suicide. I definitely support Wells’ right to defend himself, and agree with those who want to see “thug culture” die a quick death. I think it is high time communities stand up against the criminal elements that are destroying once beautiful neighborhoods, just as Damon Wells did. However, I think this issue is not just about whether a man has the right to defend himself, but about whole communities and generations destroyed by broken homes, drugs, and the glorification of drug/gang culture that results.

Rich, white academics may have pioneered the sexual and cultural revolution that told us we don’t need two-parent families, that dad’s don’t matter, or that all is relative, but it is the poor and middle-class that bear the brunt of this hastily-proclaimed revolution. I think it is time for us to examine ourselves and look at why a generation of “liberated” persons relies so heavily on anti-depressants and feels such anger toward their own communities and families.

Kevin O’Brien of the Plain-Dealer asks similar questions in his article, How shall we answer Arthur? How is it that a boy of 15 can get to the point of practically “raising himself,” living in an abandoned house? O’Brien writes:

Too many minority neighborhoods are thugocracies. And the thugs aren’t old. They are, in many cases, the neighborhood children, recruited young and initiated into crime while they’re at their most impressionable.

Now before we cry “racism” here, I think many white neighborhoods end up this way as well. How in the world have we gotten to a point where neighborhoods can be run by teens with illegal guns? I think the social policies and assumptions that came about in the 60s and 70s have failed. Perhaps, as O’Brien suggests, we need to return to the most basic solution: strengthening the family. Again, the rich have weathered the sexual revolution pretty well, with the money and resources to treat, cover-up, and medicate the damage done by unstable families, but the poor and middle-class have not been so fortunate.

Here is an excerpt from a Simpsons episode I watched today. This is from the episode when Homer is accused (falsely) of sexual harassment. These lines are cut out of syndication, so you either have to own the DVD or have seen the episode when it aired originally. A Sally Jesse Raphael figure is interviewing a crying female who obviously has no connection to the accusations against Homer, and here is the dialogue:

Woman: [weeping] I don’t know Homer Simpson, I — I never met Homer Simpson or had any contact with him, but — [cries uncontrollably] — I’m sorry, I can’t go on.

Sally: That’s OK: your tears say more than real evidence ever could.

I find today that many people, especially younger people, base most of their decisions on emotion. A sad and gripping testimony, or being “made to feel bad” is often more solid evidence than the facts. I have been asked, “how can the Church say two people who love each other so much can’t get married?” or “how can the Church hurt somebody’s feelings like that?” While I too am moved to sadness by strong, emotional, testimony, I also feel it is important for us to consider that one person’s emotional experience doesn’t necessarily negate reality, or in the case of religion, Church Teaching. It is difficult to live in a society where hurting someone’s feelings = being in the wrong.

When a few batches of the amino acid L-Tryptophan were contaminated in the early 1990s, one woman was paralyzed from the contamination. She gave an emotional testimony of why supplements should be regulated like drugs before Congress. Many in Congress were moved by her testimony. While it is sad that she got a hold of a contaminated version of this amino acid, and the Japanese manufacturer involved should have been held liable, did the 99% of people who have had no safety issues with supplements deserve to lose the right to their health promoting pills? Does one emotional testimony mean that suddenly the proven safety record of supplements becomes called into question? I find the same often happens with gun control or other “controls.” For instance, a strong emotional testimony of a mother (who foolishly left a loaded gun near a child) crying about losing her child to a gun accident is likely to make us think twice about gun ownership. “Think of the children!!” we always hear. However, the fact that gun accidents among children are extremely rare (much more rare than drowning even) and that millions defend themselves with guns (most simply by brandishing it) aren’t negated by one event, no matter how awfully tragic.

Perhaps all of this is the result of relativism (there is no right or wrong, so “feelings” become the new standard of the the rightness or wrongness of an act), or perhaps the self-esteem movement (I am ok, you’re ok, we’re all ok!), but nonetheless, those words “I feel” have great power of persuasion these days. Even worse, hurting someone’s feelings is seen as heartless, and even morally wrong. Now don’t get me wrong, I show up as an “F,” a feeler, in the personality tests, meaning a person’s emotional reaction IS important to me, and I often do make decisions based on how others will feel. I also believe that Christians are called to consider the feelings of others, who are humans with dignity, when we make decisions. However, emotional appeal cannot trump reality. If a student doesn’t do the work, makes no effort to try, and just can’t comprehend the class concepts, no matter how much I may wish otherwise, he deserves an “F.” Descartes said “I think, therefore I am,” but the new objectivity seems to be “feelings,” so in modern society perhaps the new phrase is “my feelings are strong, therefore I am.”

…From Times Like These!

What has come of our society, when mass murder is the “solution” to finding out your girlfriend may have cheated on you? A pathetic and cowardly gunman at Virginia Tech killed himself and 32 others. According to the most recent news, the shooter was Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a Korean and a permanent resident of the U.S. We should pray for all those involved, including the souls of the departed.

Here are my initial thoughts. First, I am surprised a permanent resident could get a handgun. I wonder how he could pass the background check if he has not been here very long. Just to show my biases: I definitely believe in the right to bear arms, and support concealed carry laws, but I also support registering guns, background checks, and having waiting periods. Second, I am curious as to how this guy was able to move around freely and shoot so many people. I know he had a gun, but it seems he moved all around campus over a long time span!

I know I am outside of the situation, but after the school shootings in the late 1990s, I have often thought how I would react if someone went on a shooting rampage. I am sure the terror of the moment would change even the most well-thought out plans. The first thing I would do is get the hell out of there and find a secure location, which many of the students did. Then I would look for some kind of weapon, any weapon that I could feasibly use if the guy got close, which may even include a legally concealed weapon (Of course, at Virginia Tech, non-criminals can’t legally carry concealed weapons, even if they have the permit…maybe if a few lawful citizens could have fired back, this would have ended sooner…). Third, if I knew the dude had just killed others, I wouldn’t assume he is going to let me live if he sees me and pursues or aims. I would not willingly line up to be executed, especially if I knew he had already shot others. Perhaps rallying those around to gang tackle the guy would work, although this would not be without loss of life (a la the folks on United Flight 93). I would drop a TV down the stairs, throw books at him or ANYTHING to reduce the accuracy of his aim and his mobility. Even police are often inaccurate with handguns at even fairly short distances, so some college kid isn’t likely a dead shot. Anything to distract or reduce his aim would at least give me a fighting chance. I would then find something thick, a book or something metal to place over my heart, at least to slow down the bullet a little. I have seen ballistics tests with different types of calibers, and while it would take a Catholic Bible to stop a 9mm bullet, at least I would be doing something. I remember my Greek prof once saying that if there is another school shooting, students just need to attack the gunmen and go for the eyes. Crude, but probably more effective than running or cowering.

This is a sad situation that makes Don Imus’ dumb comments, and Anna Nicole Smith’s baby’s paternity, seem pretty trivial. Kyrie Eleison