Good Morning!
I am going to "change this up" a bit...
This is a holiday weekend so...we are going to participate in an intellectual buffet!
********************************************
Geologists and Interpretations...
I was watching a series on the History Channel that was intriguing! It was about the entire history of the earth from its beginning as a single small rock...to what it is today...
There were many experts interviewed that gave their perspectives and insights...
One Geologist in particular was discussing the significance of the Precambrian and Cambrian fossils. He noted that the fossil records found in specific layers are direct records of a "mass explosion" in the diversity of life.
In other words...life went from a few types to hundreds, thousands, even millions of species/types!
Something didn't sit right with me...
These fossil layers (because they were in specific layers) were not the record of the mass explosion of life...but the mass extinction of life in a brief period time...a single event in the geological perspective. That is what caused the fossil layer...not the massive growth in species...but their deaths...
Although it shows the diversity...the explosion that it points to happened over a long period of time and at some point significantly earlier than the fossil record points to...
OK...this is a petty and semantic difference...but it is minor interpretations that take us closer or further from truth...
*******************************************
STOP WASTING YOUR PARENT'S AND GOVERNMENT'S EDUCATION MONIES
I read an interesting article, written by an educator/researcher that cited some interesting pieces of information...
If a student has a high school GPA of 3.0 to 3.5...their chances of graduating college is 50%. A 50/50 chance of getting a college degree...in 6 years!
If the GPA is below 3.0, the chances of graduation drop-off significantly, to around 20%. A 1 out of 5 chance...and a single "F" puts the probability of graduation at less than 5%. 1 out of 20!
If you look at the wages or salaries of those individuals who "have some college" but have not graduated, it is significantly (more than 1 standard deviation) from those who did not attend college at all...and more than 2 standard deviations from those who attended a trade school...
The writer noted that the world doesn't need more students...our world needs more graduates...from trade schools and college...
Monies...whether from private sources (individuals or parents) or from government sources are TOTALLY wasted on any student that does not graduate!
His advice...stop wasting our money...if you go to school...do it after you have decided what you want to do and follow-through...
As I thought about this, it hit me that parents and kids have to realize that they have to work...earn and prove that they are capable of graduating college...and that a great indicator is previous performance...
The statistics show it!
Don't delude yourself into believing that you are different! You are part of that curve...you can't idle through high school...and think you are going to excel in college...your GPA IS CRITICAL!
A person's collegiate success is directly dependent on the past performance...and the habits learned...and the values instilled...you can not expect a change...and I hope that the academic community holds strong to their standards...and in fact tightens them up...
STOP WASTING OUR MONEY...AND PROVE THAT YOU ARE CAPABLE...NOW...NOT WITH A LOW PROBABLY PROMISE...
A LOW PROBABILITY PROMISE...is a lie!
From a government's perspective...educational funding should be conditional...with absolutely no exclusions related to default...
If they quit...or fail...they pay!
That would make everyone think twice before wasting our money!
We need to FORCE our students to step up and put their future money where their dreams are!
There is no value in "some college!"
In fact...if you want to make less money...go for a semester or two and quit...or get kicked-out!
There is no gainful employment for quitters!
STOP WASTING OUR MONEY!!!
An interesting paradigm breaking set of thoughts that puts effort into a different light!
*******************************************
What we should be be doing...
I had a most interesting philosophical discussion...
It was about the existence of evil...
The discussion began on whether or not I believe that evil exists...
It started on the concept of evil and moved to the entity "evil"
We agreed that the concept of evil exists and evil acts occur continuously around the clock and around the world...
Evil is global in nature...
From that point the discussions became circular and fruitless...
In fact...I realized that digging deeper or beyond our agreement became nothing more than intellectual sparring...
So I stopped...
and was moved to quote William Shakespeare...(which made no sense to me at the moment)
"...love all, trust a few and do wrong to none..."
And then the discussion went one step deeper...
We agreed that our purpose is not to seek the root cause (the why of) of evil but to find evil (injustices, immorality, unethical acts) and put a stop to it...
What an interesting place to end...
I learned some an interesting thing from this conversation...
Don't waste time trying to argue to some "far-off" conclusion...but work to see how far you can take agreement and at that point...work to see what you can do with that agreement to make that moment better for your having been a participant...it is your Quantum Obligation!
******************************************
Now that Bin Laden is gone...who or what is our biggest threat?
On January 1st, 2000 we entered the 21st century...
Because of its proximity to the 20th century...we really saw no difference...
It was not a binary situation...
It took a few years (8) for reality to set in!
Around October 2008, we awoke to the reality of the 21st century...
The symptom was the crash of the real estate market...
Symptom?
We saw what "enterprising" mortgage companies did to our society...and our economy...but the problem runs much deeper...
I could take you down the logical path...but let's cut to the chase...
What became apparent was who and what are the biggest enemies of our liberty and freedom...
WE (SOME OF US) ARE THE ENEMY...
In other words...we been diligently seeking out the enemies of the American principals of liberty and freedom and found them to be us!
It is our apathy and inability to act with the spirit of the law...
We created a need for more detailed and precise (and restrictive) laws...
We gave up liberty and freedom!
It became necessary for our government to put significantly more laws into place, because enterprising company looked for and found loopholes that allowed them to capture an advantage in their market...not just the real estate market...but across the entire spectrum!
It became the modus operandi of many leaders across the broad and diverse American economy...some were more apparent than others...but it was there...
The sad thing is that society on a whole emulated these leaders...consciously and subconsciously...
Forgive me...but it became OK to be selfish crooks!
The only threat that kept them on the straight and narrow seemed to be a very threatening set of new laws!
Liberty took a major blow! It is my hope that it is not fatal!
Freedom (another one of our heroes) stepped up to save liberty...and threw itself (metaphorically speaking) on the grenade...
It has yet to explode...but the timer is there!
All of these prose aside...we need to realize that if we are to live in a society of liberty and freedom...if we are to truly be able to celebrate its existence on the 4th of July...and not just the memory of the times long past...
It is not the external enemies that pose the greatest threat to what we stand for...it is those who refuse to live by the American standard...
Are you living by the spirit of the law or the letter of the law? Are you living according to the content of the law or the intent?
Every time a new law is enacted...the hands of the Freedom and Liberty death clock move closer to midnight!
We should be living in a way that we are making more and more laws unnecessary...
Laws should be coming off the books rather than more added...or at least...never enforced because no one ever breaks them!
This weekend celebrates Liberty and Freedom...are we celebrating its continued existence...or are we celebrating a time when?
Enough said!
*******************************************
Have a wonderful and safe weekend!
Look for what life is telling you...
Look for agreement...rather than arguments...
Make a vow to keep Liberty and Freedom alive and thriving...
Are you a Patriot or an enemy of the state?
Like the lesson found in the fossil layer...Are you looking for the real messages (the intent) of of our society...or taking the easy and self-serving path (the content)?
Are you working today...realizing that this helps ensure that you will make your aspirations real? You do not deserve success...you do not deserve liberty or freedom...they may be unalienable rights...but they are not immortal!
Liberty and freedom are fragile...it is our actions and beliefs that affect their health and welfare...
Stop...think and ACT!
Pura Vida!
Breaking the Chains of Paradigms that keep us from Success and Authentic Happiness...
No comments:
Post a Comment