The Truth. The Whole Truth

Absolute certainty about a thing does not make it accurate. Humans are fallible. And we all know people who continue to believe things contrary to truth long after the facts have smashed them in the face. On this truism are beliefs that the cheating spouse is faithful or that the moon is the home to the Lunarians.

.We then have the corruptibility of political figures. The image is of plain paper envelopes stuffed with cash going from hand to hand. Having worked in government, I can assure you that it’s more likely the cumulative effect of many situations. You receive free tickets to the theater, lunch or dinner at a nice restaurant, or”favors”. Corrupt practices start small and build. I remember visiting an office in a major urban community on the day that the Federal warrants were served on officials in an adjacent city. The fear was palpable. Are we next? Everyone was walking on eggshells.

Physical science? Flat Earthers. Do I need to say more? The Earth is, in fact, not flat.

I just love it when an author comments that ” any rational observer would see…” that this or that was so or not so. Humans can act rational, but not always, and not consistently.

Now, into the world of woodcarving. I’ve had students come to me from other instructors insisting that wood must be sawn on the quarter ( quarter sawn) to be carved. They become agitated when I select a random piece of fine and start carving a boat portrait. Quarter-sawn wood is nice. But I maintain that you can’t always get what you want. You should accommodate yourself ( within limits) to working with what you can get.

My favorite stupidity is that immigrants, or those people from this or that place, are lazy. As an anthropologist, I’ve worked in immigrant communities. Based on what I’ve seen, it’s the other way around. The immigrants work long hours at some of the worst jobs, send their kids to school, and generally have hyperactive work ethics. It’s the native born who are the slackers.

People are the same wherever you go. For this one, I love my favorite Margaret Mead quote: “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” There is a huge amount of variation, but we are one species. Not as similar as dolls on the toy store rack, but one species.

The government is responsive to the needs of the people. Another Margaret Mead quote: “The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.”

Flashes of brilliant insight fuel technological advances. BS, or as Thomas A. Edison put it, “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” 

Finally, WE have a tendency to want to make things easier on our kids than we had it. This is fine in many areas. Giving them adequate nutrition, healthcare and such all make good sense. But there is something in struggle, opposition, and conflict that adds to their life experience. And to close this out, here is my final bit of folk wisdom: “Calm seas never made a skillful sailor.”