In order to obtain a driver's license, everyone must pass a test in basic Civics - how the government was really founded, what the original Boston Tea Party was about (destroying private property in order to make a point) and most importantly, how the American government should function, and what happens when the citizens do not take part in the process.
If nothing else, air pollution from automobiles will decrease significantly, there will be fewer vehicular accidents and, after a while, we might return to a truly representative democracy. Think about it.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
a funny thing happened to me on the way to the blog
So, where have I been, I hear you ask? Well, looking for the password, for one thing. In order not to forget it or lose it, I wrote it down in a small notebook which I rather promptly misplaced.
I realized that about the same time notification came that my high school reunion will be in September, not June – more time. And, since this year's vacation will be a "stay-cation" or a long time spent on "Balconia", with lots of time to read, I calmed down and read 2 parts of THE DIVINE COMEDY, selected tales by Boccaccio – sorry I missed those at university – Fibonacci, Will and Ariel Durant's "THE AGE OF FAITH" and a gazillion articles in my 1969 encyclopedia, bought when I inherited some money. Still one of the best investments I have ever made.
Then, it was on to the MODERN HISTORY chapter – which brought me up to about 1960 and included events which I remember well. Funny, "history" was always long, long ago, in a place far, far away but it's not. It's us – we are living it and making it. Odd to think that in another couple of generations much of what we hold dear will seem antiquated, unsophisticated, boring and probably rather stupid.
A slight digression: one of the interesting sections was about the Black Death. I have my doubts that it was bubonic plague, due to the rapid spread. Rats and fleas do not travel at a constant speed of 5 to 6 miles a day; yet that is how it spread in England, according to records found in the British Museum. Maybe pneumonic plague or something else airborne?
However, in thinking about disease, I was reminded that the doctor who came to deliver the older brother of my grandmother did not want to wash his hands. My great-grandfather was a barber and knew about septicemia. When the doctor refused, my great-grandfather paid him for the visit, and subsequently delivered all 13 of his children himself, with no birth complications. Most of the children died before reaching adulthood but all save one lived through their teen years. None died in childbirth. And my great-grandmother lived to be 90.
At about the same time, I had a "discussion" with a physician whose nearness to God I happened, accidentally to be sure, to question. OK, what I said was that future generations would call us "the slash and burn generation", a quote I read once and found quite apt. We cut people open to remove tumours which we cannot shrink or dissolve or otherwise make disappear. Then we radiate or dose with chemotherapy – none of which I am against. Quite the contrary, 50 years ago, a child in my class had leukemia and was dead within weeks of the diagnosis. So, I am quite happy that so many advances have been made in medicine and I have had the good fortune to live in the first world where these advances are available. I still think our descendants will shake their heads from time to time, just as we do about our ancestors.
From MODERN HISTORY, I next tackled A SHORT HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, which also went into the 60's. From there I read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Both should be obligatory reading in every American school, every year, from the 6th class through university.
There is a story, hopefully apocryphal but probably not, that someone stood on a corner and tried to get people to sign a copy of the Bill of Right – the first 10 amendments to the Constitution – and the vast majority of people would not. That probably explains the TEA PARTY.
As a nation, we have "dumbed" ourselves down to the point of absurdity, with quasi-literate politicians screeching about getting the government out of people's lives while giving welfare to the rich – check out the tax code and see who pays the most.
These are also the people who bail out the banks whose overweening greed ruined thousands. It does make you wonder if evil people are attracted to politics or if politics, as practiced today, turn people into evil creatures. The quote, "If power tends to corrupt, then absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely" never goes out of fashion and is applicable all over the world:.
Kirgystan doesn't trip lightly from the tongue but for the operations in Afghanistan and beyond, it's vital. The U.S. base in Kirgystan is the in-out point and the country is in the middle of another revolution – this time bloody. Five or so years ago, there was a peaceful revolution with the new leader, a man of the "people" who pledged to:
end corruption, create jobs, raise the standard of living, blah, blah, blah.
Not only did he not do that, he had his opponents jailed so that there were no leaders to rein in the mob which, in desperation because of corruption, lack of jobs, lower standard of living, gathered last week and rampaged through the capital city. Worse still, he had his soldiers fire into the crowd – something his predecessor did not do. Cross your fingers.
The next chapter – CIVICS - should also be compulsory reading for the TEA PARTY. But, if it's too difficult, they should have someone read it to them while they colour the pictures.
I realized that about the same time notification came that my high school reunion will be in September, not June – more time. And, since this year's vacation will be a "stay-cation" or a long time spent on "Balconia", with lots of time to read, I calmed down and read 2 parts of THE DIVINE COMEDY, selected tales by Boccaccio – sorry I missed those at university – Fibonacci, Will and Ariel Durant's "THE AGE OF FAITH" and a gazillion articles in my 1969 encyclopedia, bought when I inherited some money. Still one of the best investments I have ever made.
Then, it was on to the MODERN HISTORY chapter – which brought me up to about 1960 and included events which I remember well. Funny, "history" was always long, long ago, in a place far, far away but it's not. It's us – we are living it and making it. Odd to think that in another couple of generations much of what we hold dear will seem antiquated, unsophisticated, boring and probably rather stupid.
A slight digression: one of the interesting sections was about the Black Death. I have my doubts that it was bubonic plague, due to the rapid spread. Rats and fleas do not travel at a constant speed of 5 to 6 miles a day; yet that is how it spread in England, according to records found in the British Museum. Maybe pneumonic plague or something else airborne?
However, in thinking about disease, I was reminded that the doctor who came to deliver the older brother of my grandmother did not want to wash his hands. My great-grandfather was a barber and knew about septicemia. When the doctor refused, my great-grandfather paid him for the visit, and subsequently delivered all 13 of his children himself, with no birth complications. Most of the children died before reaching adulthood but all save one lived through their teen years. None died in childbirth. And my great-grandmother lived to be 90.
At about the same time, I had a "discussion" with a physician whose nearness to God I happened, accidentally to be sure, to question. OK, what I said was that future generations would call us "the slash and burn generation", a quote I read once and found quite apt. We cut people open to remove tumours which we cannot shrink or dissolve or otherwise make disappear. Then we radiate or dose with chemotherapy – none of which I am against. Quite the contrary, 50 years ago, a child in my class had leukemia and was dead within weeks of the diagnosis. So, I am quite happy that so many advances have been made in medicine and I have had the good fortune to live in the first world where these advances are available. I still think our descendants will shake their heads from time to time, just as we do about our ancestors.
From MODERN HISTORY, I next tackled A SHORT HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, which also went into the 60's. From there I read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Both should be obligatory reading in every American school, every year, from the 6th class through university.
There is a story, hopefully apocryphal but probably not, that someone stood on a corner and tried to get people to sign a copy of the Bill of Right – the first 10 amendments to the Constitution – and the vast majority of people would not. That probably explains the TEA PARTY.
As a nation, we have "dumbed" ourselves down to the point of absurdity, with quasi-literate politicians screeching about getting the government out of people's lives while giving welfare to the rich – check out the tax code and see who pays the most.
These are also the people who bail out the banks whose overweening greed ruined thousands. It does make you wonder if evil people are attracted to politics or if politics, as practiced today, turn people into evil creatures. The quote, "If power tends to corrupt, then absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely" never goes out of fashion and is applicable all over the world:.
Kirgystan doesn't trip lightly from the tongue but for the operations in Afghanistan and beyond, it's vital. The U.S. base in Kirgystan is the in-out point and the country is in the middle of another revolution – this time bloody. Five or so years ago, there was a peaceful revolution with the new leader, a man of the "people" who pledged to:
end corruption, create jobs, raise the standard of living, blah, blah, blah.
Not only did he not do that, he had his opponents jailed so that there were no leaders to rein in the mob which, in desperation because of corruption, lack of jobs, lower standard of living, gathered last week and rampaged through the capital city. Worse still, he had his soldiers fire into the crowd – something his predecessor did not do. Cross your fingers.
The next chapter – CIVICS - should also be compulsory reading for the TEA PARTY. But, if it's too difficult, they should have someone read it to them while they colour the pictures.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
"Leonardo, no, not that Leonardo!"
Happy New Year - somewhat late but still heart-felt.
The only painting in the United States by the Leonardo you are thinking of is the portrait of Ginervra de'Benci, painted about 1474 (ok, late Middle Ages), currently on view at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. It is in a glass case and the back of the portrait is also on view. Quite something.
But, the Leonardo I really love, admire and thank, especially when I think of having to do trig again towards the end of this book, is Leonardo of Pisa. Sometimes called the "greatest mathematician of the Middle Ages", Leonardo loved the abstract beauty of mathematics. His portrait, not those of sitting Presidents, should be in every classroom and pupils should salute, bow or lay a wreath. We have more to thank him for than any politician.
Called Fibonacci by those of us who are grateful, he was the son of a businessman who represented the city-state of Pisa or directed a trading post for Pisa in North Africa in what is now Algeria.
Leonardo, born about 1170 A.D., while still young, travelled to North Africa with his father and there he learned about the Hindu-Arabic number system.
Until that time, Roman (yes, really) numerals were still in use in Europe. Imagine your math class:
XLIV divided by VII equals VII. Actually an easy problem. What about:
MCMLXVI divided by VII equals CCLXXXI. Well, thanks to Leonardo, the problem was simplified to
1967 divided by 7 = 281.
Leonardo watched merchants calculate, learned the new system and through his book, LIBER ABACI, the Book of Calculation, spread the use of Hindu-Arabic numerals throughout Europe.
He also contributed to intelligence tests, job assessment tests and general "damn I can't figure that out" tests with the development of the Fibonacci sequence:
0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,_____ the next number is 21. 1 and 1 are 2, 2 and 1 are 3, 3 and 2 are 5, 5 and 3 are 8. It's supposed to have something to do with calculating how many rabbits you would have at the end of the year if you started with 2. The answer is "too many" but the calculation is fun.
This chapter of the book is full of rather silly questions - Where did the Northmen come from ? Answer: not the South.
On what was the feudal system based - feudalism.
OK, not funny but also not very challenging. Therefore, I will continue to read Michael Jecks excellent mysteries as well as those by Susanna Gregory, listen to the BBC radio's excellent series about THE SECRET SCIENTISTS and tell you with the next post why we should also know about them.
The only painting in the United States by the Leonardo you are thinking of is the portrait of Ginervra de'Benci, painted about 1474 (ok, late Middle Ages), currently on view at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. It is in a glass case and the back of the portrait is also on view. Quite something.
But, the Leonardo I really love, admire and thank, especially when I think of having to do trig again towards the end of this book, is Leonardo of Pisa. Sometimes called the "greatest mathematician of the Middle Ages", Leonardo loved the abstract beauty of mathematics. His portrait, not those of sitting Presidents, should be in every classroom and pupils should salute, bow or lay a wreath. We have more to thank him for than any politician.
Called Fibonacci by those of us who are grateful, he was the son of a businessman who represented the city-state of Pisa or directed a trading post for Pisa in North Africa in what is now Algeria.
Leonardo, born about 1170 A.D., while still young, travelled to North Africa with his father and there he learned about the Hindu-Arabic number system.
Until that time, Roman (yes, really) numerals were still in use in Europe. Imagine your math class:
XLIV divided by VII equals VII. Actually an easy problem. What about:
MCMLXVI divided by VII equals CCLXXXI. Well, thanks to Leonardo, the problem was simplified to
1967 divided by 7 = 281.
Leonardo watched merchants calculate, learned the new system and through his book, LIBER ABACI, the Book of Calculation, spread the use of Hindu-Arabic numerals throughout Europe.
He also contributed to intelligence tests, job assessment tests and general "damn I can't figure that out" tests with the development of the Fibonacci sequence:
0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,_____ the next number is 21. 1 and 1 are 2, 2 and 1 are 3, 3 and 2 are 5, 5 and 3 are 8. It's supposed to have something to do with calculating how many rabbits you would have at the end of the year if you started with 2. The answer is "too many" but the calculation is fun.
This chapter of the book is full of rather silly questions - Where did the Northmen come from ? Answer: not the South.
On what was the feudal system based - feudalism.
OK, not funny but also not very challenging. Therefore, I will continue to read Michael Jecks excellent mysteries as well as those by Susanna Gregory, listen to the BBC radio's excellent series about THE SECRET SCIENTISTS and tell you with the next post why we should also know about them.
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