Opinions

We all have opinions. There is no denying that each and everyone of us has our own perspective from which we see and experience the world.  Can you imagine a world if we all thought, believed, and felt the same way?  It would be a pretty uninteresting place. That, by the way is an opinion. You see it would be practically impossible to even communicate without opinions.

I've recently been intrigued by the logical fallacy of "false equivalence," one of a number of logical fallacies, or errors in reasoning.  A false equivalence is basically when a two opposing perspectives or arguments are presented as being equal when in fact the evidence supporting one is much more than for the other.   A weaker position is raised to equality with a stronger one simply by saying they're equal.

I wonder if this is what goes on when we use phrases like "I'm entitled to my opinion." or "That's just your opinion." and even elevate our opinion with false humility "In my humble opinion."  without taking a moment to examine those opinions.   Sometimes it seems to me that we get lost in a sea of our own and other's opinions because too many of us equate our perspective with the way things really are.

But wait a minute.  Haven't I said before that we create our own reality through beliefs, thoughts, words, actions, and opinions?  Yes, but the the key word here is "our."  I do not create another person's reality.   And to mistakenly think that my subjective reality is equal to your subjective reality is a form of false equivalency.

The only way to arrive at anything near objective reality is to continually negotiate and compromise our myriad subjective realities to find common perspectives.  But this is difficult to do when everyone insists that our "right" to an opinion is the same as that opinion being equal to all others.

Public discourse today is filled with false equivalencies when perhaps what we really need is more honest and truly humble discussion and deliberation of our common humanity, our interconnectedness and interdependence with all of creation - our "true" equivalencies.

Now you have my opinion on opinions.     What's yours?

Amazing Times

When I was one year old the first all transistor radio was demonstrated at a radio fair in Germany.  By the time I was in the sixth grade pocket sized, battery operated radios were nearly as common as wrist watches.  I remember huddling around one with my friends on the school playground in 1963 listening to a Dodgers vs Yankees World Series.  Of course the teacher confiscated it as we went back into the classroom at the end of recess.

As smaller and smaller transistors and batteries were developed, Radios, along with televisions, also became smaller and smaller.  Around the same time computers were filling entire rooms.  Then came the integrated circuit or "chip" and computers began downsizing.

From that point on things seemed to happened very quickly and everything started getting small - tape player/recorders, then CD players, desktop computers, and laptop computers.  Then nearly "out of the blue" came cell phones, and close on their heels this thing called "The Internet."   Soon it was all integrated into another battery powered, pocket sized device called a "smart" phone. 

Now I sit in my living room and "blog" to people, some of whom I don't know and probably never will, anywhere in the world.  While I write I also research, or "google", facts and figures and create "hotlinks" so you can learn more about them, on your personal devices.   

We do live in amazing times!  I wonder what's next?  I hope we can find a way to explore, create, and develop without continually hurting each other and our planet.

Just a few random thoughts on a beautiful Spring morning.  

  

  

Taxes

"The only certainties in life are death and taxes."
~ attributed to Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, and numerous others

"Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's."
~ Jesus

Since I wrote earlier in the year about death perhaps the day after we in the U.S. A. paid our taxes is a good time to reflect on the other "certainty" of life.

In January I basically said that in order to truly live one must first come to terms with the fact that one will die.  Doing so brings a freedom to our lives that allows us to relax and enjoy our days, weeks, and years.  I wonder if thinking of taxes in a similar way would relieve the burden of taxes that so many people seem to feel.

Living in community, whether in a family, club, association, church, city, state, or country, requires communal resources, the source of which are the individuals who make up the community.  If we expect and enjoy the benefits of community, we must also expect to provide our share to the general welfare of the community.  In our civil governments we call these contributions taxes.

If taxes are inevitable, then why not at least choose to see the positive side of paying them?  First, if we are paying taxes this means we have resources that are taxed whether property, income, or purchased goods.  Be thankful we have these resources.   Second, look at all of the things our taxes provide in the way of security, conveniences, services, and peace of mind.   Our collective taxes provide military protection, law and fire protection, highways, clean water, sanitation services, education, arts and humanities, and the list goes on.

Or we could choose to see taxes as a burden and continually complain about having to pay them.

All I'm saying here is we have choices as to how we view the inevitable things of our lives, which include death and taxes.

As for me, today my taxes are done and in the mail and I'm taking a deep breath and relaxing in the benefits they provide.  After all there is also another certainty of life and this is Life itself.  So, why not contribute to it, participate in it, and enjoy it?

Transformative Beauty

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,-that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

~ John Keats

"...there's this vision of the beauty of God that transports us and that takes us to a new depth and a new height. It's one of those things about beauty. You can't capture it in a word or a formula. When you get to that humble place where the beauty of God has overwhelmed you, I think it changes everything. You can say the same creed that you said before, but now it's not a creed that grasps God in the fist of the words, but it's a creed that points up to a beauty that's beyond anybody's grasp."

~ Brian McLaren

It is difficult to to be outdoors this time of year, especially in Washington, DC, and not encounter beauty.  Cherry and Japanese Magnolia trees are bursting into bloom.  Forsythia is in full radiant yellow.  And flower beds are beginning to explode with color.

It has also been said that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" which may be another way of saying, "we see what we want to see."  I do believe this is true. However, sometimes beauty catches us by surprise.  I'm talking about wordless, breathless beauty that transcends description that is as Brian McLaren says above, "...beyond anybody's grasp."   This kind of beauty is the beauty and truth of Keats.

Sometimes it's up to us to make room for surprise.  So why not take time today to walk away from whatever seemingly important thing that just has to be done, and create some space for beauty.  

Whatever it is you left will be there when you get back.  But my guess is that it won't quite as importantly pressing as it was before.

  

FYI for those in the DC area, the "CHPC Evolving Christian Faith" discussion group meets tonight at Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church to discuss an "On Being with Krista Tippett" conversation with Brian McLaren.  There is also an phone in option for anyone, anywhere!   Please join us if you can.    Get all the details here.

  

Parables

"Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ Pay attention to what you hear."
~ Jesus, Mark 4:23

I woke up this morning thinking of a story I have heard several times.  It's one of those urban legend type stories that gets told as if it happened to a friend, a relative, or friend of a cousin.  It probably did happen to somebody, somewhere, sometime.  Or, it may not have happened at all and is pure fiction.  Regardless it is a "true" story about several things: perception, non-communication, generosity, greed, scarcity, and abundance. It can be interpreted and appropriated on numerous levels, both personally and collectively. In other words, it is a parable. And like any good parable the conclusion is left to the reader.  Jesus would have probably told this particular parable with a poor widow and rich young man, or a master and servant, or a beggar and a priest. Here's the way I remember it:

An elderly woman, traveling by bus, had a layover during her journey. She purchased a package of cookies from a vending machine in the bus terminal and located a table. She placed her cookies on the table, sat down, and proceeded to read her newspaper

A young man joined her and, to her surprise, opened the package of cookies and began to eat them. The woman, said nothing, but gave him an icy stare and grabbed a cookie. The young man, with a funny look on his face, ate another cookie. The woman again glared and grabbed another cookie. The young man finished the third cookie and offered the last to the woman.

Completely appalled, she grabbed the cookie and the young man left. Outraged, the woman threw down her paper only to find her unopened cookies on the table in front of her.

There are parables all around us!