Once you start asking questions, innocence is gone.
~ Mary Astor ~
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The complexity of existence is beyond my comprehension. A grain of sand on a Gulf of Mexico beach may be completely different from one on a beach on Oahu, Hawaii or Limbe, Cameroon. The “whiskers” on some mammals and the antennae on some insects perform similar functions. Riding on those grains of sand or those whiskers or antennae are tiny life forms that may transport other life forms. The image of a honeybee’s head through a scanning electron microscope reveals two large, hairy, compound eyes, each made up of thousands of hexagonal lenses. Looking into the iris of a human eye, the patterns and colors are (to me) incomprehensible. Soap bubbles are simple, but the intricacy of their structures is mind-boggling. One person’s red hair. Another’s blonde hair. Male. Female. Light-skinned. Dark-skinned. Salamanders. Buffalo. Telecommunications. Wireless phones. Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs. Siamese cats. Volcanic eruptions. When I think of the trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions of unique expressions of inanimate objects and life forms and light and planets and liquid water…and on and on and on…I am overcome with awe. How is it possible that…? Or…? Ultimately, why should it matter to me? Humans seem to think the universe formed to give us reasons and answers. I sincerely doubt it. Perhaps we simply are objects to be examined by or experienced by all the other components of existence…a number so incredibly vast that it is unknowable.
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Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbour is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions.
~ Paulo Coelho ~
An online article in today’s New York Times about Melinda French Gates’ emergence as a major donor to progressive causes and politics, after years of structured impartiality, captured my attention. In her case, her divorce from Bill Gates and her new-found, unshared wealth, seemed to trigger her transformation. The article prompted me to think about how my “public” positions and my behavior might change if all the real or imagined constraints on me were to disappear. For example, my vocal support of a number of socially liberal financial positions probably would diminish somewhat. I wholeheartedly support governmental financial support for people in need, but I think the system probably needs a complete overhaul to get more money to people who need it most, and less to those whose needs are not as urgent or critical. My support of progressive governmental policies probably would be tempered by an insistence on access to research that reveals the pros and cons of those policies. Neither the Democratic nor the Republican Parties are, in my view, even close to philosophically pure; instead, they tend to claim to support attractive philosophies that, when examined closely, are laced with blind or self-serving flaws. For that reason, I can envision my admittedly limited financial support going not to either party, but to (or against) specific philosophical positions (not people). Had I been trained as and successful become a slick debater, I would be more likely to espouse my thoughts orally—but I mumble and stumble and think too slowly on my feet. If that limitation were lifted from me, I might argue more fervently in support of my positions—but I would not shut down arguments against them without solid, legitimate, supporting facts. Even the most divisive subjects, I think, can be brought to the point of mutual agreement by those with opposing viewpoints…but only when compromise is seen as victory, not as vanquishment. Both left and right seem to be increasingly inflexible on almost aspect of social and governmental life. Whether we like it or not, only by conceding some of our adversaries’ offensive positions will ever reach workable consensus that lasts. That, I suppose, would be among the most obvious change in me; if I could aggressively promote compromise (rather than obstinately cling to unrelenting opposition), I might feel better about my ability to stimulate real change. I would remain pretty damn liberal/progressive, but I would insist on infusing left-leaning concepts with reality.
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An information box on the Weather Network forecast page for Hot Springs Village claims the outside temperature is 64°F at the moment and predicts a high of 79°F today. Adjacent to that box, another box forecasts a high of 88°F by 3 p.m. Which is more likely to be accurate? Is it the left-box forecast or the right-box forecast? And, if I cannot rely on one or the other, why should I assume the reported current temperature properly represents reality? I suspect the forecasts reported in the two boxes come from different sources. But, if so, why? If I do not get an answer to these questions, I will just have to deal with the inconsistencies, won’t I?
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I have made it through two (or is it three?) days without a nap. Steroids administered during my chemo treatment probably are responsible. We’ll see if they last through today…and even longer.
