My personal journal, Chert Journal is its own thing and this blog has another. Chert is a common type of stone, a kissing cousin with limestone and flint, colorful with sharp edges, commonly associated with stream beds and gravel bars in southern Missouri. I thought it a good metaphor for myself. In some ways I can be interesting but then who isn’t? What could be more Common than a retired teacher with a lesson in hand and a room of full of empty chairs? Chert Journal is about me and my story. Stones In The Road is a collection of stories to share, many are drawn from the Chert Journal. Again a metaphor, Stones In The Road can be considered hazards to avoid or be seen as pilgrims in their own right. Stones in the road need be turned over in search of a surprise discovery waiting there.
Last week I posted a piece about the Pro Life - Pro Choice controversy. I don’t usually take on controversy as I am neither buying nor selling. But it was not babies that came to the surface. It took nearly 900 words for me to hammer out that narrative. In retrospect, I am struck with my own flash of insight that only required one or two sentences. I wrote, “It’s not about babies. What legalized abortion does is, it robs men of their authority.” The argument is so easy to make. All one has to do is think about how (God) religion has subordinated women to the procreative service of man’s divine instrument. God’s purpose: it would seem that He is more committed to planting seeds than to growing plants.
If it sounds like conspiracy theory that’s the risk of introducing stories that bigots don’t want to hear. Looking at microbes under a microscope both magnify and clarify the structure and function of tiny things up close. Looking at the world through a straw limits you to whatever a fertile imagination can fabricate from a great distance and a tiny sample. The confusion comes when wanna-believers with an unproven story argue that their straw is a microscope. Granted, most of of the (robbing men of authority) evidence is circumstantial or point of view, but there is so much of it. Add to that, common sense tradition is no better than the horse it rode in on, committed to what we (people) want to believe in the first place and how that sustains status quo. lIf you want scientific certainty you need some discipline and process to validate the premiss.
Today I wish I could sum up the story of mankind’s (Moral Construct) in two sentences. Greek and Roman scholars from Epictetus to Marcus Aurelius nailed it down pretty well. They observed, the truth is whatever we say it is. If we can agree, who would challenge us? Believing is its own truth and it can be manipulated as the need requires. The application of accurate measurement and mathematical analysis has significantly narrowed that funnel but still, it doesn’t change the way culture relies on common sense (uncorroborated prejudices we acquire in our youth). That’s how it works. Man’s authority over women has been a common sense principle since before written language, and it has been a righteous pillar of moral imperative ever since. So the view through a straw will do little to discriminate between Right (as in Righteous) and Wrong (as in Wicked). But then Right & Wrong can flip-flop anytime we agree (Roe vs. Wade); whatever we say it is.
Oh my, I haven’t even touched on where morals come from or how they work and I’m way-over my word limit. But don’t trust a common sense approach to morals and morality. It would prove woefully inadequate. I could take another swing at Morals and Morality another day but I don’t want to fuel speculation that I’m just another old teacher who would rather die with a piece of chalk in hand than live in the vacuum of empty chairs.
Last week I posted a piece about the Pro Life - Pro Choice controversy. I don’t usually take on controversy as I am neither buying nor selling. But it was not babies that came to the surface. It took nearly 900 words for me to hammer out that narrative. In retrospect, I am struck with my own flash of insight that only required one or two sentences. I wrote, “It’s not about babies. What legalized abortion does is, it robs men of their authority.” The argument is so easy to make. All one has to do is think about how (God) religion has subordinated women to the procreative service of man’s divine instrument. God’s purpose: it would seem that He is more committed to planting seeds than to growing plants.
If it sounds like conspiracy theory that’s the risk of introducing stories that bigots don’t want to hear. Looking at microbes under a microscope both magnify and clarify the structure and function of tiny things up close. Looking at the world through a straw limits you to whatever a fertile imagination can fabricate from a great distance and a tiny sample. The confusion comes when wanna-believers with an unproven story argue that their straw is a microscope. Granted, most of of the (robbing men of authority) evidence is circumstantial or point of view, but there is so much of it. Add to that, common sense tradition is no better than the horse it rode in on, committed to what we (people) want to believe in the first place and how that sustains status quo. lIf you want scientific certainty you need some discipline and process to validate the premiss.
Today I wish I could sum up the story of mankind’s (Moral Construct) in two sentences. Greek and Roman scholars from Epictetus to Marcus Aurelius nailed it down pretty well. They observed, the truth is whatever we say it is. If we can agree, who would challenge us? Believing is its own truth and it can be manipulated as the need requires. The application of accurate measurement and mathematical analysis has significantly narrowed that funnel but still, it doesn’t change the way culture relies on common sense (uncorroborated prejudices we acquire in our youth). That’s how it works. Man’s authority over women has been a common sense principle since before written language, and it has been a righteous pillar of moral imperative ever since. So the view through a straw will do little to discriminate between Right (as in Righteous) and Wrong (as in Wicked). But then Right & Wrong can flip-flop anytime we agree (Roe vs. Wade); whatever we say it is.
Oh my, I haven’t even touched on where morals come from or how they work and I’m way-over my word limit. But don’t trust a common sense approach to morals and morality. It would prove woefully inadequate. I could take another swing at Morals and Morality another day but I don’t want to fuel speculation that I’m just another old teacher who would rather die with a piece of chalk in hand than live in the vacuum of empty chairs.
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