Dear America,
Verbum Vitae et Lumen Scientiae
Word of Life and the Light of Knowledge
motto,
University of Richmond
Virginia
Or,
Communism, Atheism, Free Love
motto,
celebrated daily @ Reed College
Portland
Same country.
Different college.
You know, some days, I get this flash of light, a sense, a feeling deep down inside me, that I AM settled science. And it is magnificent when I'm in it. And then again, other days, not so much -- nothing seems settled, let alone settling.Some days, it's just easier to feel more lost than saved; some days, it's just easier to wallow in the slop than rise to the occasion that our reality calls for, both literally and figuratively.
The thing is -- as little old gthing gets right down to it -- we must figure out how to coexist in this petri dish that we call life in America, not to mention with the rest of the world, while recognizing our individual freedom to live the lives our Maker designed. [And hating myself for reaching out to a bumper sticker slogan so early on the day. Consider it to be a life line thrown in on the fly. We'll just have to wait and see if anything good comes of it.]
I mean, my goodness, Reed College gets it, right?
The University of Richmond celebrates it, no?
Of course, our founders thought they thought of everything already, having set up the new world with a Republic that celebrates, honors, elevates the individual above government; in other words, limiting the hand of government by a Rule of Law that controls and binds its power and making unlimited the body, We the People, for Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Free Spirits for every one.
All exceptions to The Rule were individually divided.
And Happiness -- made or lost -- individually dedicated and obligated for life.
"Hope is a good breakfast,
but a bad supper."
Francis Bacon
At the end of the day, it is what we DO that carries the day, that justifies our existence, that settles the science, the call of duty, to apply ourselves to this thing called life, or not.
But make no mistake -- there is no guarantee of happiness just by being born in these here United States. That is not what our founders said.
The subjective cue to the powers that be to come to the aid of the General Welfare is not a call to feed the body, in whole or in part, nor is it about providing free health care. But I digress... we've been there and done that argument round and round and round again until we all fall down.
[Now -- Providing for a Common Defense...
now that is spelled out, quite clearly;
as our newly appointed chief advocate of that duty,
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel says.....
Risk and liability meet the Modern Age in Military Preparedness.
Oh my, and on another front:
If you linked in there, and there-there, we can only hope it all works out...
and oh the ironies abound, as nobody wins a war on hope.
But let's circle back around to how we began the day --
At choice -- as Americans, as students, as individuals -- we can choose a Reed College or a University of Richmond. Have at it kids.
And now stop for one second and really get a grip of what these two colleges symbolize.
Stop.
I mean it.
Take in what these two widely different arenas for higher education offer -- and think about the umpteen individuals drawn to them and what they do once they complete their four years...
And then ask yourself, just where, oh Where, art thou -- this choice -- once we graduate, so to speak?
Where is this freedom to live and let live, choosing to commune with those we feel a certain kinship in ideals, in practice, in leading a productive life according to a mission, a motto, a stroke of genius that is our own and in accompaniment with others?
It's called the power of the states, individually -- and collectively this is only found in America.
And it seems everything from smoking pot to gay marriage, to NFL franchise names to name calling, is open season and up for discussion -- no matter how ugly it gets.
[If you linked into the "name calling" there...how hard is that going to be to put into play? Given the n-word is thrown around liberally during the game -- and clearly being black on black because a white boy would never go there -- applying a fifteen yard penalty every time? Is this for real? Seriously? Is the end game to ruin football altogether? Micromanaging people doesn't work in business or in life or in football. So there. Moving on.org.]
The thing is, we are living in a season when what is undoubtedly offensive to one person is all in a day's work for another. And yes, I meant to make light of that. Whatever. Shoot me with a high caliber A-15.
Somehow colleges make it work and nobody says boo about it...
From my view, "communism, atheism, and free love" may very well be to blame for most of our woes in America these days, as well as become fodder of a motto to hate; but having said that -- I dig it because I am not afraid of our differences! Matter of fact, I would like to think I revel in it. Goodness gracious, who am I kidding, I make hay with it all the live long day! What a great country this is, right, Putin? But maybe that's just me being G. Of course, it is.
Can't we coexist -- within the confines of our differences, amidst this wave of political correctness (albeit one-sided), and maintain the Rule of Law all at the same time -- oh, and keep our religion, too?
Currently, Arizona is wrestling with a variance of this sort of thing, read more here.
And from another angle, our nation's ability to honor a truly free press has recently been individually and collectively challenged on this, courtesy of our very own FCC, see more here.
At the end of the day, this day, there is plenty of Verbum Vitae et Lumen Scientiae to go around.
And to each his own.
There is simply so much, almost too much, to be up in arms about.
But go ahead.
Do business the way you want to do business.
No Prada shoes, no Gucci shirt, no service...It's a free choice.
If it's offensive to enough people, you will soon be out of business.
That isn't an opinion -- it's just an idealistic-free fact.
It's how the free market is designed to work and how business gets done and un-done with plenty of unintended consequences to boot.
Risk and liability abound when speaking up for what you believe in -- while the adverse is also true when you don't.
It's not rocket science (and not even close to being settled); it's human nature meets free will, and brought to you by Divine Providence [most days probably with eyes closed as It can't bear to watch].
Make it a Good Day, G
Courtesy of the University of G
Campus Tours Daily
Come Back Soon, or not
xoxo
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