Christine Rosen (writer at Big Questions Online) wrote an excellent article on Reality TV and the destructiveness that is plaguing our culture, our youth. Her accurate discussion of this phenomenon is exemplary. Thank you Christine.
http://www.bigquestionsonline.com/columns/christine-rosen/what-is-reality-tv-doing-to-us
C'ya
Eagle Driver
check 6
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Character fixes our Destiny
Louis L'Amour, a famous western cowboy author (1908-1988) is quoted:
Our words, deeds, actions, continue for generations to come. What narrative we leave?
Tyron Edwards minister of the Second Congregational Church in Connecticut from 1845-1857 said,
"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.''
Our words, deeds, actions, continue for generations to come. What narrative we leave?
Tyron Edwards minister of the Second Congregational Church in Connecticut from 1845-1857 said,
"Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions for habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny."
Over 150 years ago, and this truth has not changed. That is a key component to truth - it does not change regardless of the "tolerance of the day".
Character fixes our destiny,
Eagle Driver
check 6
Over 150 years ago, and this truth has not changed. That is a key component to truth - it does not change regardless of the "tolerance of the day".
Character fixes our destiny,
Eagle Driver
check 6
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
One's Heart is set on What?
I recently finished two books on the Spartans and the Battle of Thermopylae as I had recently watched the movie 300 again. Being a military man I was impressed with the tactics to further the strategy that King Leonidas demonstrated in holding off the Persian hordes, reminiscent of the Battle of the Alamo. King Leonidas, along with James Bowie and William B. Travis had set their mind on defending the greater good of their nation. These men did what they had to do to protect the freedom for others. We have heard it spoken in terms of: "Duty, Honor, Country".
The time-line of the Battle of Thermopylae got me into the Old Testament book of Ezra and I was taken aback by what I read in chapter Ezra 7:10
Wow, what an incredible statement that reflects the questions I have posed on my previous posts:
What have we set our heart on?
What do we practice?
What are we teaching the generation that follows us?
Profound questions requiring honest answers.
C'ya
Eagle Driver
check 6
The time-line of the Battle of Thermopylae got me into the Old Testament book of Ezra and I was taken aback by what I read in chapter Ezra 7:10
"For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel."
Wow, what an incredible statement that reflects the questions I have posed on my previous posts:
What have we set our heart on?
What do we practice?
What are we teaching the generation that follows us?
Profound questions requiring honest answers.
C'ya
Eagle Driver
check 6
Legacy - what will we leave?
Continuing with my previous post on leadership and Winston Churchill's History of the English Speaking Peoples (Vol. 1, "The Birth of Britain", Dodd, Mead & Company, New York 1956, pg. 242-243), Sir Churchill writes a chapter on the birth of the famous Magna Carta. He begins this chapter with King Richard the Lionheart and the next heir King John of England.
As I read this chapter I began to reflect back on my 50+ years. What will be my legacy, my "long tally is added it will be seen that..."? Will I be remembered as King Richard who "embodied the virtues which men admire" or as King John who is remembered for the vices of his reign? These are terribly difficult questions that one asks of oneself demanding an answer! If only I knew this when I was in my 20s.
I have learned to ask myself these profound questions and whether I have the ability to change. Change is a good thing, but one must change for the better. So the obvious next daunting question is, "What is the better?"
A life lived in selfishness is not "the better" as evidenced by King John of England and the remembrance of his life. Selfishness is characterized by such synonyms as egotistic, greedy, piggish, covetous, hording, mean, uncharitable, etc. Throughout history and numerous books written on selfish people, the recurring theme is a life ending in misery.
If misery and being remembered for one's vice is the result of selfishness, then the opposite must be "the better". What lifestyle, what worldview, what standard for one's life has been recorded time-and-time again as honorable? Well the word "honorable" says it all. The only lifestyle, worldview, standard that is consistently honorable and recorded over time is one based on the New Testament (notice I did not name a specific religion). Only the teachings of the New Testament decry the excesses of selfishness and extol the virtue of self-less-ness.
A life based on honor "is the better". Now I must change and do the right thing regardless of the situation. I am learning to become more honorable by spending time in the Word of God and attempting to live it out in my remaining years.
"Richard had embodied the virtues which men admire in the lion, but there is no animal in nature that combines the contradictory qualities of John... Moreover, when the long tally is added it will be seen that the British nation and the English-speaking world owe far more to the vices of John than to the labours of virtuous sovereigns; for it was through the union of many forces against him that the most famous milestone of our rights and freedom [the Magna Carta] was in fact set up."
As I read this chapter I began to reflect back on my 50+ years. What will be my legacy, my "long tally is added it will be seen that..."? Will I be remembered as King Richard who "embodied the virtues which men admire" or as King John who is remembered for the vices of his reign? These are terribly difficult questions that one asks of oneself demanding an answer! If only I knew this when I was in my 20s.
I have learned to ask myself these profound questions and whether I have the ability to change. Change is a good thing, but one must change for the better. So the obvious next daunting question is, "What is the better?"
A life lived in selfishness is not "the better" as evidenced by King John of England and the remembrance of his life. Selfishness is characterized by such synonyms as egotistic, greedy, piggish, covetous, hording, mean, uncharitable, etc. Throughout history and numerous books written on selfish people, the recurring theme is a life ending in misery.
If misery and being remembered for one's vice is the result of selfishness, then the opposite must be "the better". What lifestyle, what worldview, what standard for one's life has been recorded time-and-time again as honorable? Well the word "honorable" says it all. The only lifestyle, worldview, standard that is consistently honorable and recorded over time is one based on the New Testament (notice I did not name a specific religion). Only the teachings of the New Testament decry the excesses of selfishness and extol the virtue of self-less-ness.
A life based on honor "is the better". Now I must change and do the right thing regardless of the situation. I am learning to become more honorable by spending time in the Word of God and attempting to live it out in my remaining years.
"All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify." - 1 Corinthians 10:23
What will be your Legacy?
Better to have learned this at 52 instead of 62.
C'ya
Eagle Driver
check 6
What will be your Legacy?
Better to have learned this at 52 instead of 62.
C'ya
Eagle Driver
check 6
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Leadership verses Today
Winston Churchill writes in Volume 1 of The History of the English Speaking Peoples (Dodd, Mead & Co., New York 1956) on page 141 speaking of King Canute around 1027 AD:
My, how nothing has changed, for without vision the people die. Somehow I cannot see the popular candidates and our society's focus on rock-star popularity contests as someone who can bring order out of ceaseless broils and command harmony. Earlier Sir Churchill wrote of the death of King Edmund Ironside and the lack of follow-on leaders:
"These remarkable achievements, under the blessing of God and the smiles of fortune, were in large measure due to his own personal qualities. He again we see the poser of a great man to bring order out of ceaseless broils and command harmony and unity to be his servants, and how the lack of such men has to be paid for by the inestimable suffering of the many."
My, how nothing has changed, for without vision the people die. Somehow I cannot see the popular candidates and our society's focus on rock-star popularity contests as someone who can bring order out of ceaseless broils and command harmony. Earlier Sir Churchill wrote of the death of King Edmund Ironside and the lack of follow-on leaders:
"... but in 1016, at twenty-two years of age, Edmund Ironside died, and the whole realm abandoned itself to despair."
Our actions have long lasting, generational effect. The question we must ask ourselves is:
Am I bringing order out of ceaseless broils and commanding harmony?
or
Am I causing my people to abandon themselves to despair?
What legacy do we want to leave?
C'ya
Eagle Driver
check 6
Our actions have long lasting, generational effect. The question we must ask ourselves is:
Am I bringing order out of ceaseless broils and commanding harmony?
or
Am I causing my people to abandon themselves to despair?
What legacy do we want to leave?
C'ya
Eagle Driver
check 6
Friday, August 6, 2010
Got to have a Plan!
Pilots have been taught from the early stages of flight school to have a plan to arrive safely at the destination, and to be ready when (not if but when) something goes wrong. Major plans are during takeoff, at cruise, and when landing. Simulators are outstanding planning resource where the pilot can hone his/her skills at reacting to mechanical failures. One of the nice options when I was flying fighters was the ejection seat. This feature always gave you an out as the flying was very irregular to say the least. The following photos clearly show the advantage of the ultimate option - a Canadian CF-18 pilot ejects at a recent airshow.
Ah, only if life itself was as easy as pulling up on the ejection handles and squeezing the triggers and have the parachute deploy allowing you to safely land back on earth. No life is more akin to the airliner in that you do not have an ejection seat and where you have to solve the problem in the air and then safely recover the airplane on the runway. Why, am I bringing this up? In the fighter jet it is just simply you, while in the airliner it encompasses much more: you, your crew, and your passengers. That is life - it is not just about you!
This flight experience has transferred to my life in general. The studying of history, philosophy, and theology have given me a learning perspective that I had lacked in my younger days. This perspective is now long-term as opposed to that of my youth with a devotion to the "now." The long-term has trained me not to panic but to persevere for I know there is a reward for working through the present hardship.
My plan is to continually ask these questions, of which sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail:
How are my actions today going to affect those around me and the generations to follow? In other words are my actions honorable, ethical, praiseworthy - furthering good? If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.
What have I learned (good and bad) that I may pass on to those around me and the generations that follow? In other words have I the nobility of character that friends and family feel at home with and can they learn without being ridiculed? If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.
Where is my heart and mind? In other words are my thoughts and actions reflective of the standard or am I like so many - a hypocrite? If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.
Who do I serve - me or God? In other words are my actions reflective of a lifestyle that knows that earth is not the final destination? If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.
Why am I here? In other words do I believe in something/someone higher than me - Is Jesus Christ real and is the Bible real? (Many who attack the Bible have never read it from cover-to-cover they just grab a verse out of context or grab the Cliff Notes). If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.
My plan includes the study of the Bible itself, theology, philosophy, etc. so that I have the knowledge to successfully handle the next abnormal systems failure in the airliner of life. Additionally I will actively practice life and not sit back as a passenger and say "woe is me." The treasure of one's character must be invested in the future, by acting appropriately today. That is my plan, do you have a Plan?
"For our citizenship is in heaven..." (Phil. 3:20) and "... for they [the Pharisees] loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God" (John 12:43).
Food for Thought if You are Hungry
Eagle Driver
check 6
Ah, only if life itself was as easy as pulling up on the ejection handles and squeezing the triggers and have the parachute deploy allowing you to safely land back on earth. No life is more akin to the airliner in that you do not have an ejection seat and where you have to solve the problem in the air and then safely recover the airplane on the runway. Why, am I bringing this up? In the fighter jet it is just simply you, while in the airliner it encompasses much more: you, your crew, and your passengers. That is life - it is not just about you!
This flight experience has transferred to my life in general. The studying of history, philosophy, and theology have given me a learning perspective that I had lacked in my younger days. This perspective is now long-term as opposed to that of my youth with a devotion to the "now." The long-term has trained me not to panic but to persevere for I know there is a reward for working through the present hardship.
My plan is to continually ask these questions, of which sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail:
How are my actions today going to affect those around me and the generations to follow? In other words are my actions honorable, ethical, praiseworthy - furthering good? If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.
What have I learned (good and bad) that I may pass on to those around me and the generations that follow? In other words have I the nobility of character that friends and family feel at home with and can they learn without being ridiculed? If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.
Where is my heart and mind? In other words are my thoughts and actions reflective of the standard or am I like so many - a hypocrite? If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.
Who do I serve - me or God? In other words are my actions reflective of a lifestyle that knows that earth is not the final destination? If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.
Why am I here? In other words do I believe in something/someone higher than me - Is Jesus Christ real and is the Bible real? (Many who attack the Bible have never read it from cover-to-cover they just grab a verse out of context or grab the Cliff Notes). If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.
My plan includes the study of the Bible itself, theology, philosophy, etc. so that I have the knowledge to successfully handle the next abnormal systems failure in the airliner of life. Additionally I will actively practice life and not sit back as a passenger and say "woe is me." The treasure of one's character must be invested in the future, by acting appropriately today. That is my plan, do you have a Plan?
"For our citizenship is in heaven..." (Phil. 3:20) and "... for they [the Pharisees] loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God" (John 12:43).
Food for Thought if You are Hungry
Eagle Driver
check 6
Monday, August 2, 2010
Hate Sells
Half the year is over and we are that much closer to 2012, where the world will end as we know it (I know because I saw the movie). I find it very interesting how many people really hate this or that. Those who are of the "tolerant" camp hate those who are intolerant and are not like them - intolerant of the intolerant (as Mr. Spock of Star Trek would say, "Illogical."). There are those who are intolerant of the tolerant (again Mr. Spock, "Fascinating."). Seems to me everyone is simply intolerant and employing their view as the "Only Correct" position (again by definition - intolerant).
So I propose that everyone stop with the "tolerant/intolerant" facade and acknowledge the hate that is spewed. Will someone explain to me how the current rants of hate (from the tolerant and intolerant camps) solve anything? Has it ever solved anything in history? This current rant of "tolerance" is simply disguised Hate! Once again we are guilty of not learning from the past and now we are destined to repeat it with the Hatfields and McCoys, the North and the South of our past Civil War.
We are (or use to be) a nation of ideas not ideologies. I guess Hate Sells - wasn't it a simpler time when it advertisers said that sex sells? Disagreeing without being disagreeable is a mark of civilized behavior within a society. Spewing hate from the Right to the Left and from the Left to the Right accomplishes the Hatfields and McCoys ideology.
I am free to believe; however, I am not free to harm. Freedom is not free and carries significant responsibility. The question we must ask ourselves (as opposed to demand from others) should be something to the effect of, "Are my actions generated from my beliefs physically harming others or the society at large?" The key words are My Actions and Harmful.
Hate, disguised in any form, is unequivocally harmful! Are our actions/words spewed with hate?
On page 246 of Power vs Force - The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior (Carlsbad, Calif., Bay House, Inc., 2002), Dr. David R. Hawkins writes:
If the pen is mightier than the sword (along with our words) and actions speak louder than words, then where does our hate-filled language take us? Or as Mr. Spock said in the TV series Star Trek from the episode titled "Errand of Mercy":
C'ya
Eagle Driver
check 6
So I propose that everyone stop with the "tolerant/intolerant" facade and acknowledge the hate that is spewed. Will someone explain to me how the current rants of hate (from the tolerant and intolerant camps) solve anything? Has it ever solved anything in history? This current rant of "tolerance" is simply disguised Hate! Once again we are guilty of not learning from the past and now we are destined to repeat it with the Hatfields and McCoys, the North and the South of our past Civil War.
We are (or use to be) a nation of ideas not ideologies. I guess Hate Sells - wasn't it a simpler time when it advertisers said that sex sells? Disagreeing without being disagreeable is a mark of civilized behavior within a society. Spewing hate from the Right to the Left and from the Left to the Right accomplishes the Hatfields and McCoys ideology.
I am free to believe; however, I am not free to harm. Freedom is not free and carries significant responsibility. The question we must ask ourselves (as opposed to demand from others) should be something to the effect of, "Are my actions generated from my beliefs physically harming others or the society at large?" The key words are My Actions and Harmful.
Hate, disguised in any form, is unequivocally harmful! Are our actions/words spewed with hate?
On page 246 of Power vs Force - The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior (Carlsbad, Calif., Bay House, Inc., 2002), Dr. David R. Hawkins writes:
"Frequently, the only way one can reach this willingness to change [from hate] is when one "hits bottom," that is, by running out a course of action to its end in the defeat of a futile belief system. Light can't enter a closed box; the upside of catastrophe can be an opening to a higher level of awareness."
If the pen is mightier than the sword (along with our words) and actions speak louder than words, then where does our hate-filled language take us? Or as Mr. Spock said in the TV series Star Trek from the episode titled "Errand of Mercy":
"It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want."
C'ya
Eagle Driver
check 6
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