Is there a difference in the basis of debate, whether pro or con, concerning immigration, tax credits or school vouchers, universal health care, social security reform or school prayer? If we review for example, the school prayer discussion we can apply the same logic to the other national concerns.
What is the difference between those who declare that prayer should be banned from school and those who propose its inclusion? How does one make these declarations? From whence comes the knowledge to aver what other individuals must do? Have declarers examined their philosophy to the depth required to goad, urge or prod academia, government or the individual to kowtow to fear of reprisal from one group or another with any moral authority?
Subjectivism holds that there are no absolutes or principles and judgment is relative. Hence, “truth is in the eye of the beholder.” However, “what is right for you might not be right for me”. Ergo, no one can have objective knowledge or objective grounds for evaluating another person’s beliefs or actions. An analogy might be, “On the premise that moral values are merely subjective preferences, there is no factual basis for moral judgment.” Those who believe that “anything goes” also avoid making any judgments.
Those who argue for school prayer dismiss the “truth is relative” or “anything goes” statements of the subjectivists. They espouse “unquestionable truth” and advocate absolute standards of right and wrong.
Are the positions and attitudes of the two opinions diametrically opposed?
It is only on the surface that the subjectivist is opposed to the religious proponent. The two share a fundamental similarity. In denying that there are any objective standards by which to choose how to think or act, the subjectivist makes clear that his choices are ruled by blind feelings. This is precisely the basic policy of the religious proponent as well.
Consider that there is an infinite number of opposing religious sects, how does the religionist decide which faith to embrace, which revelations to follow and which authority to obey? Does he scientifically gather evidence, carefully weigh it, and then adopt the conclusion to which reason and logic point? Obviously not. He feels it. He feels that Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, astrology or whatever, is the right faith for him. While the religionist may claim to uphold absolute truths in his argument for school prayer, his beliefs are as arbitrary as those of the subjectivist. The difference between the two is that there is no difference, merely emotionalism.
What neither the subjectivist nor the dogmatist can fathom is the need for an alternate approach, a method of seeking truth, acquiring knowledge, and defining moral standards, not by indulging in emotions, but by the process of reasoning based on factual evidence. In every issue and area of life, our decisions must be based on logical arguments that are grounded in directly perceivable facts and not emotions, feelings or arbitrary whims.
Examine the rhetoric our public representatives espouse on national issues such as immigration and border security, tax credits or vouchers for school choice, social security reform, universal healthcare or any other of the myriad discussions and debates. We must ask what is fact and what is emotion, dismiss emotion and base decisions on facts alone. To avoid their rhetoric, our culture has to reject emotionalism whether in the form of anything-goes subjectivism or emotionally driven feelings, in favor of logic and reason.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Friday, December 30, 2005
Free Software
That's right, free software!
Check out this free browser from FireFox. It is much better than Internet Explorer in terms of security, functionality, and ease of use. You know, the little things! Just click on the big blue link on the right!
Check out this free browser from FireFox. It is much better than Internet Explorer in terms of security, functionality, and ease of use. You know, the little things! Just click on the big blue link on the right!
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Dancing at the New York Crystal Dance Studio
Dancing at the New York Crystal Dance Studio
As boys growing up in West Islip, our favorite sport was baseball. We walked and talked baseball and often took our heroes names while playing. I remember my mother saying, “If you want to make the double play like Pee Wee Reese, you should learn to tap dance. That’s what Pee Wee Reese and Gil Hodges did!” I inquired, “Mom, what do you mean?” And mom said, “You have to have great foot work to make the double play at second base and to receive the throws at first base. They took dancing lessons to become better fielders.”
To my amazement, I learned mom knew what a double play was and thus knew the secret of my heroes’ success. This solidified in my mind for time eternal that mothers know everything! But I never took dance lessons and never learned to dance.
*****
Our friends Joan, Rich, Pam and Dennis love to go to dinner and dancing. As beautiful dancers, they know the subtleties of leading and following. My wife, Joni, always wanted to dance but I was a stick in the mud and preferred to sit out. After attending enough gatherings and weddings where you sit with people you don’t know, can’t hear, and watching our friends have so much fun, Joni put her foot down and said we were taking dance lessons. And as a dutifully “trained” husband I uttered the words all husbands know, “yes, dear.” There are three things you learn when you get married and they are, “Yes dear, anything you say dear and it is for the children dear.” Once you learn all three, you’ll have a happy wife and a happy life!
*****
The New York Crystal Dance Studio is located in West Islip at the intersection of Higbie Lane and Udall Road. Every conceivable dance instruction is available. Joni and I enrolled in ballroom dancing. At my age I figured I wasn’t going to play shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers and what the hell, they moved to LA anyway.
New York Crystal is a wonderful studio to learn ballroom dancing especially for someone who has absolutely no clue where to begin. The owner of the studio is Rosalie and our instructor’s name is Joe. Marjorie and Phyllis instruct group and individual lessons as well. And I need all their help. One is continually amazed with their patience, teaching ability, cajoling and sense of humor. You quickly conclude they love to dance and they impart their knowledge excellently.
I think Joe must have experience as a diplomat and could be the US representative to the United Nations. I am sure it has been very difficult for him, as he has had to teach me that I have to move both my left and right feet. Once you learn a step, store it in memory, Joe might say something like, “by the way Hank, you have to lead.” Oh, oh! To prevent utter panic from setting in, you must think like a chess player. You have to decide your next step ahead of time in order to lead it correctly. Two people should dance as one.
There are many people who take lessons at Rosalie’s dance studio. The more experienced dancers assure you that they too started not knowing how to dance when they joined. That is difficult to believe when you see how gracefully they glide around the dance floor whether doing foxtrot, Viennese waltz or tango at the Friday evening dance parties. It was at one of these events, we encountered my former West Islip high school world studies and economics teacher, Mr. William Angelos.
I reintroduced myself to Mr. Angelos and then introduced him to Joni. When we were in school, some classmates called Mr. Angelos, the big A. I always called him, Uncle Bill. He remembered me as one of his erstwhile students from many years ago. My favorite classroom lesson was when he explained the “Law of Supply and Demand”. His words were, “If there is a shortage of baseballs, what happens to the cost of a ticket to see a game?” Uncle Bill knew how to make me think. On this particular Friday evening, Uncle Bill explained he had been dancing for four years and said he wished he had started sooner. He then explained to Joni about being a kid growing up and that it was more important to play baseball than to learn to dance. Joni couldn’t believe hearing the same story that I had subscribed to for so many years, reconfirmed by Mr. Angelos.
This was the culture of our time. Both teacher and student never learned to dance because it was more important to play ball. The attitude transcended generations. I know I never gave dancing a thought but I should have. The teenage girls I would have wanted to impress would have preferred to dance rather than watch a baseball game. That attitude transcended generations as well, because wives are the same. Given the choice of attending a major league baseball game or going dancing, most wives will opt for dancing.
*****
Everyone who takes ballroom dancing starts by learning the basic Foxtrot steps. To maintain marital bliss, one tries to avoid stepping on your partner’s toes. You try to take two steps forward, two to the side and then and two steps back. I didn’t catch on to this very quickly. About twenty minutes into our first lesson, Joe said, “Hank, there is a pattern.” A light went off in my head. These words mean there is a plan! As an engineer I have the innate ability to count to four and because there is a plan, there is hope. Joni is elated because she knows that if there is a plan, I’ll figure it out. With Joe’s tactful instruction, and Rosalie acting as marriage counselor, we came back for another lesson. After a few lessons, Joni decided to place her toes way back so I wouldn’t step on them and that we better purchase dance shoes.
New York Crystal Dance Studio offers beginner’s group lessons on Saturday. Thus, we entered Marjorie’s world. It is not exactly the Eagles’ “Hotel California” or the rigors of basic training in the Army but more like tough love administered with the aim to make you as good a dancer as you want to be. Knowing she is dealing with an elementary school child’s mentality, Marjorie may use an expression like, “Simon says watch”! You may watch all you like but then you have to do what you were observing. It wasn’t long before I was in Marjorie’s doghouse.
Marjorie also teaches the Wednesday evening intermediate group. I told one of the fellows in that group that I’ve been in Marjorie’s doghouse for a while. With a smile in his eye he said, “We all are. Once you’re in, you never get out!” When summer arrives Marge takes vacation. Phyllis takes over her classes and uses another approach that doesn’t employ a doghouse. She’ll ask you to dance and she’ll follow your lead. If you lead well, all is fine. If you don’t, Phyllis will follow you just the same and very quickly you realize, “Oops, I should have done something!” If Rosalie is teaching you to lead a step, she’ll use an ample supply of abrupt exaggeration and/or imitation to make sure she gets her point across about what you did and what you should have done.
It is fun to observe the interplay between instructors. Rosalie holds court and gives as well as she gets. Sometimes Joe will needle Marjorie a bit and get her going. He easily makes Phyllis laugh and he does it all the time. Their laughter is light and contagious. The spirit and the enjoyment is all in fun and the result is fun for all!!! So if you want to have some fun and learn to dance, try New York Crystal Dance Studio.
As boys growing up in West Islip, our favorite sport was baseball. We walked and talked baseball and often took our heroes names while playing. I remember my mother saying, “If you want to make the double play like Pee Wee Reese, you should learn to tap dance. That’s what Pee Wee Reese and Gil Hodges did!” I inquired, “Mom, what do you mean?” And mom said, “You have to have great foot work to make the double play at second base and to receive the throws at first base. They took dancing lessons to become better fielders.”
To my amazement, I learned mom knew what a double play was and thus knew the secret of my heroes’ success. This solidified in my mind for time eternal that mothers know everything! But I never took dance lessons and never learned to dance.
*****
Our friends Joan, Rich, Pam and Dennis love to go to dinner and dancing. As beautiful dancers, they know the subtleties of leading and following. My wife, Joni, always wanted to dance but I was a stick in the mud and preferred to sit out. After attending enough gatherings and weddings where you sit with people you don’t know, can’t hear, and watching our friends have so much fun, Joni put her foot down and said we were taking dance lessons. And as a dutifully “trained” husband I uttered the words all husbands know, “yes, dear.” There are three things you learn when you get married and they are, “Yes dear, anything you say dear and it is for the children dear.” Once you learn all three, you’ll have a happy wife and a happy life!
*****
The New York Crystal Dance Studio is located in West Islip at the intersection of Higbie Lane and Udall Road. Every conceivable dance instruction is available. Joni and I enrolled in ballroom dancing. At my age I figured I wasn’t going to play shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers and what the hell, they moved to LA anyway.
New York Crystal is a wonderful studio to learn ballroom dancing especially for someone who has absolutely no clue where to begin. The owner of the studio is Rosalie and our instructor’s name is Joe. Marjorie and Phyllis instruct group and individual lessons as well. And I need all their help. One is continually amazed with their patience, teaching ability, cajoling and sense of humor. You quickly conclude they love to dance and they impart their knowledge excellently.
I think Joe must have experience as a diplomat and could be the US representative to the United Nations. I am sure it has been very difficult for him, as he has had to teach me that I have to move both my left and right feet. Once you learn a step, store it in memory, Joe might say something like, “by the way Hank, you have to lead.” Oh, oh! To prevent utter panic from setting in, you must think like a chess player. You have to decide your next step ahead of time in order to lead it correctly. Two people should dance as one.
There are many people who take lessons at Rosalie’s dance studio. The more experienced dancers assure you that they too started not knowing how to dance when they joined. That is difficult to believe when you see how gracefully they glide around the dance floor whether doing foxtrot, Viennese waltz or tango at the Friday evening dance parties. It was at one of these events, we encountered my former West Islip high school world studies and economics teacher, Mr. William Angelos.
I reintroduced myself to Mr. Angelos and then introduced him to Joni. When we were in school, some classmates called Mr. Angelos, the big A. I always called him, Uncle Bill. He remembered me as one of his erstwhile students from many years ago. My favorite classroom lesson was when he explained the “Law of Supply and Demand”. His words were, “If there is a shortage of baseballs, what happens to the cost of a ticket to see a game?” Uncle Bill knew how to make me think. On this particular Friday evening, Uncle Bill explained he had been dancing for four years and said he wished he had started sooner. He then explained to Joni about being a kid growing up and that it was more important to play baseball than to learn to dance. Joni couldn’t believe hearing the same story that I had subscribed to for so many years, reconfirmed by Mr. Angelos.
This was the culture of our time. Both teacher and student never learned to dance because it was more important to play ball. The attitude transcended generations. I know I never gave dancing a thought but I should have. The teenage girls I would have wanted to impress would have preferred to dance rather than watch a baseball game. That attitude transcended generations as well, because wives are the same. Given the choice of attending a major league baseball game or going dancing, most wives will opt for dancing.
*****
Everyone who takes ballroom dancing starts by learning the basic Foxtrot steps. To maintain marital bliss, one tries to avoid stepping on your partner’s toes. You try to take two steps forward, two to the side and then and two steps back. I didn’t catch on to this very quickly. About twenty minutes into our first lesson, Joe said, “Hank, there is a pattern.” A light went off in my head. These words mean there is a plan! As an engineer I have the innate ability to count to four and because there is a plan, there is hope. Joni is elated because she knows that if there is a plan, I’ll figure it out. With Joe’s tactful instruction, and Rosalie acting as marriage counselor, we came back for another lesson. After a few lessons, Joni decided to place her toes way back so I wouldn’t step on them and that we better purchase dance shoes.
New York Crystal Dance Studio offers beginner’s group lessons on Saturday. Thus, we entered Marjorie’s world. It is not exactly the Eagles’ “Hotel California” or the rigors of basic training in the Army but more like tough love administered with the aim to make you as good a dancer as you want to be. Knowing she is dealing with an elementary school child’s mentality, Marjorie may use an expression like, “Simon says watch”! You may watch all you like but then you have to do what you were observing. It wasn’t long before I was in Marjorie’s doghouse.
Marjorie also teaches the Wednesday evening intermediate group. I told one of the fellows in that group that I’ve been in Marjorie’s doghouse for a while. With a smile in his eye he said, “We all are. Once you’re in, you never get out!” When summer arrives Marge takes vacation. Phyllis takes over her classes and uses another approach that doesn’t employ a doghouse. She’ll ask you to dance and she’ll follow your lead. If you lead well, all is fine. If you don’t, Phyllis will follow you just the same and very quickly you realize, “Oops, I should have done something!” If Rosalie is teaching you to lead a step, she’ll use an ample supply of abrupt exaggeration and/or imitation to make sure she gets her point across about what you did and what you should have done.
It is fun to observe the interplay between instructors. Rosalie holds court and gives as well as she gets. Sometimes Joe will needle Marjorie a bit and get her going. He easily makes Phyllis laugh and he does it all the time. Their laughter is light and contagious. The spirit and the enjoyment is all in fun and the result is fun for all!!! So if you want to have some fun and learn to dance, try New York Crystal Dance Studio.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Veterans’ Day 2005
Veterans’ Day 2005
Henry W. Hessing
In autumn when leaves change colors and begin to fall, raking becomes a full time occupation. Football season is in full stride. Temperatures become brisk. Children and adults celebrate Halloween. Many look forward to Thanksgiving and warm holiday meals shared with family and friends. And between these holidays are muted days that inspire contemplation.
Veterans’ Day is one of those days. It is very deliberate in terms of historical fact - the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – the time specified to remember those who have died for our freedom.
Who were they? Who were those who gave their lives?
They were the young. During a ceremony in 1985, our President said, “In a sense they gave up two lives, the one they lived and the one they never had the chance to live - the opportunity to be husbands, parents or grandparents.” Sometimes the remembered are honored with parades, ceremonies and speeches.
Maya Ying Lin’s concept for the Viet Nam Memorial was to create a quiet place within the Constitution Gardens. It has been described as, “Polished black granite reflecting the images of the surrounding trees, lawns, monuments and visitors. The walls seem to stretch into the distance towards the Washington Monument to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west.”
Some visitors trace the names of their loved ones from the polished walls. Others place flowers at the base. Silently we read the names and dates. Our mind creates images of their faces and smiles. On these ebony walls, we see their reflections. We remember their earnestness, dedication, sense of honor, and their valor. Through quiet radiance emanating from solemn experience, those of us who served in Viet Nam, sense an enormous grief. On the cheeks of the living, we see tears of sorrow.
We remember 58,178 gentle heroes. We shall always remember.
Henry W. Hessing
In autumn when leaves change colors and begin to fall, raking becomes a full time occupation. Football season is in full stride. Temperatures become brisk. Children and adults celebrate Halloween. Many look forward to Thanksgiving and warm holiday meals shared with family and friends. And between these holidays are muted days that inspire contemplation.
Veterans’ Day is one of those days. It is very deliberate in terms of historical fact - the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – the time specified to remember those who have died for our freedom.
Who were they? Who were those who gave their lives?
They were the young. During a ceremony in 1985, our President said, “In a sense they gave up two lives, the one they lived and the one they never had the chance to live - the opportunity to be husbands, parents or grandparents.” Sometimes the remembered are honored with parades, ceremonies and speeches.
Maya Ying Lin’s concept for the Viet Nam Memorial was to create a quiet place within the Constitution Gardens. It has been described as, “Polished black granite reflecting the images of the surrounding trees, lawns, monuments and visitors. The walls seem to stretch into the distance towards the Washington Monument to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west.”
Some visitors trace the names of their loved ones from the polished walls. Others place flowers at the base. Silently we read the names and dates. Our mind creates images of their faces and smiles. On these ebony walls, we see their reflections. We remember their earnestness, dedication, sense of honor, and their valor. Through quiet radiance emanating from solemn experience, those of us who served in Viet Nam, sense an enormous grief. On the cheeks of the living, we see tears of sorrow.
We remember 58,178 gentle heroes. We shall always remember.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)