Random Gems From the Second Half of Life: This is lovely.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

This is lovely.

I should like to find the existence of what my father called "Plain living and high thinking."

I want some fields and hills, woodlands and streams I can call my own. I want to spend my strength in making fields green, and the cattle fat, so that I may give sustenance to my loved ones, and aid to those neighbors who suffer misfortune; I do not want a life of monotonous paper-shuffling or of trafficking with money-mad traders.

I only want enough of science to enable fruitful husbandry of the land with simple tools, a time for leisure, and the guarding of my family's health. I do not care to be absorbed in the endless examining of force and space and matter, which I believe can only slowly lead to God.

I do not want a hectic hurrying from place to place on whizzing machines or busy streets. I do not want an elbowing through crowds of impatient strangers who have time neither to think their own thoughts nor to know real friendship. I want to live slowly, to relax with my family before a glowing fireplace, to welcome the visits of my neighbors, to worship God, to enjoy a book, to lie on a shaded grassy bank and watch the clouds sail across the blue.

I want to love a wife who prefers rural peace to urban excitement, one who would rather climb a hilltop to watch a sunset with me than to take a taxi to any Broadway play. I want a woman who is not afraid of bearing children, and who is able to rear them with a love for home and the soil, and the fear of God.

I want of government only protection against the violence and injustices of evil or selfish men.

I want to reach the sunset of life sound in body and mind, flanked by strong sons and grandsons, enjoying the friendship and respect of neighbors, surrounded by fertile fields and sleek cattle, and retaining my boyhood faith in Him who promised a life to come.

Where can I find this world? Would its anachronism doom it to ridicule or loneliness? Is there yet a place for such simple ways in my own America or must I seek a vale in [Chinese] Turkestan where peaceful flocks still graze the quiet hills?

This was written by John Birch for whom the John Birch Society was named. You can read more about him here.

Check your chip at the door.

If you are easily offended, you may want to stop where you are. I am a Christ follower, a human, and a political science major, which you can imagine, makes for an eclectic mix of ideas. I go to church, but I do not believe "religion" is anything more than an institution. Relationship, now that's what it's all about.

I do not see color unless color is thrown in my face. I do not believe in being offended by things people say because we all say stupid things from time to time and sometimes what we say isn't meant to sound the way others hear it. I also believe that the things people say are often colored by their circumstances. Often, very kind people are faced with situations that make their words sharp and coarse.

I don't mind people who disagree with me because I reserve the right to disagree with them. We have a right to free speech and if I want to have it, then you get it too. However, foul language and name-calling are just plain stupid. If you can't disagree in an intelligent manner, then I don't want to hear your stupidity. Know why you disagree and don't just mimic what you've heard from someone else. Think for yourself. Also, find truth. It won't be given to you on TV or in the papers. Blogs will often go way off in the other direction. Find it for yourself and then stand up for it. It does exist.

That being said, THIS IS MY BLOG and I won't have it hijacked by ANYbody. If you don't like what you read and feel the need to spew, you can e-mail me, but you will not be allowed to comment anywhere on my blog. Even if you find a place to, it will be deleted. This is MY place. Go get your own.