Here it is, almost the end of November and the squirrels are feasting on the little crab apples in my backyard. I think I quoted Rooster Cogburn last week, "Time has a way of gettin' away on you." Mary said I'm gonna hafta retire one of these days. But I'm having too much fun wishing there were a few more hours in a day.
With Thanksgiving over, I'm still giving thanks that the election is over. It's still a grand topic, though, amongst all the talking heads on the cable networks. It's not too early to make a few New Year's wishes: I hope we never hear another word about birtherism, or the name Grover Norquist, or that the world was created in six days, or the church telling me how to think, or (fill in the blank). I read an interesting article awhile back where twenty-one scientists were asked if they are religious or atheist. Surprisingly, several admitted to believing in a first cause, but a quote by Wernher Von Braun resonated most with me. He said, "I find it as difficult to understand a scientist who does not acknowledge the presence of a superior rationality behind the existence of the universe as it is to comprehend a theologian who would deny the advances of science."
The new chancellor of the North Dakota University System wrote a good article in last Sunday's Tribune. He fears the classical, liberal education has been watered down to meet demands of industry that serves today but not tomorrow. At one point in the article he states, "To put it simply, we want to create free minds, not ideological ones." I still refer to the cartoon character Dilbert when he asks, "When did ignorance become a point of view?" It still amazes me when I hear some of the stuff that falls out of a politician's mouth when he opens it.
My own education was in the liberal arts area, and we studied a little of this and a little of that. That's the way I still conduct my life. The only regret I have is that a big blank spot exists in my past where I didn't read enough books for the ideas. This following bit kind of explains why. A friend will come and bail you out of jail. A good friend is one who sits beside you and says, "Damn, that was fun!"
We spent Saturday afternoon in the theater watching the new movie Lincoln. It was a good one. The political battles were tough ones. I'm going to read Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals soon since the movie was based on that book. The way the Lincoln character is played is very interesting. They made him out to be human, telling raw jokes, pulling shenanigans to get his way, and all the time, holding to his beliefs.
My own education was in the liberal arts area, and we studied a little of this and a little of that. That's the way I still conduct my life. The only regret I have is that a big blank spot exists in my past where I didn't read enough books for the ideas. This following bit kind of explains why. A friend will come and bail you out of jail. A good friend is one who sits beside you and says, "Damn, that was fun!"
We spent Saturday afternoon in the theater watching the new movie Lincoln. It was a good one. The political battles were tough ones. I'm going to read Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals soon since the movie was based on that book. The way the Lincoln character is played is very interesting. They made him out to be human, telling raw jokes, pulling shenanigans to get his way, and all the time, holding to his beliefs.
