Both ways

Early post this week. I will be spending the next two days on a school retreat which probably also shapes todays post which is somewhat theoretical and academic in nature. In preparation for the retreat I have been reading severeal legal journal papers and the Compendium of Catholic Social Thought (which I highly recommend).

Early this week I read the NY Times review of Al Gore's new book. The reviewer indicates that in the book he argues that in America we no longer use reason appropriately. Without having read it, I hate to take my argument too far, because on the basis of it I agree with him. As an orthodox Christian (my new term) I would say that the modern era is defined by style or substance. However, Al Gore definetely has a problem with that position unless he is willing to take a hard look at the Clinton presidency and how it furthered the careless use of rhetoric to get where it wanted to go. Bill Clinton was not a great leader, but he was a great communicator and they are not the same thing. It appears to me that Al Gore is accusing the Bush administration of many of the same things that went on during the Clinton administration.

I have posted about this before, but there are a lot of things in society that we can't seem to have both ways, and we have gotten so afraid of definitions that the language is becoming more and more vilified. You are either right or left, and to go further and try to explain some incongruity within that it is very difficult. I think this is the problem faced by Republican candidates like Rudy and McCain but is also faced by a number of Democrats who are either pro-life or pro-death penalty or pro-war. Our rhetoric is very fast and very careless. As a society we paint with broad brushes.

In the end we have far too much information and far too little knowledge.

Good Burger

I had written a post before I went to lunch that was probably more than a bit negative. I have two lessons I learned from the experience. First and foremost, you should never put anything on the internet before you have given it some thought. Secondly, there aren't many things that good cheeseburger can't solve. Sorry to any vegetarians in my audience of one, but I just don't think a Boca Burger would have helped clear my head - though my wife is trying to convince me it would.

The picture is of the new building where I work. Of course the flowers don't look that good yet, but I'm sure they will soon. You see - a good cheeseburger can change your whole way of looking at things.

Graduations and such

Tonight could be interesting, or it could be incredibly boring. That pretty much sums up everyday at 1:55 p.m. but tonight has some more interesting possibilities. Their will be ten girls at the house for an 11 year old birthday party. I’m incredibly outnumbered as I think the only other boy is headed for a sleep over at a friend’s house. So, I will either have to manage the chaos or be completely ignored – I would suspect the later.

Tomorrow it will be time to get up and experience commencement at my new place of employment. The room is set and it looks pretty spectacular. Tomorrow, my thoughts will be at a graduation a few thousand miles away as my brother gets his doctoral degree in Spokane. At any rate, by the time that mothers day rolls around I would suspect that all the mothers in my life would be smart to have low expectations. That point of view has served them well thus far. That’s probably not fair by a long shot. I’m having an unusually busy week and I suppose this is more par for the course for mothers.

Parent Trap

Being a parent there are a lot of things to complain about. Most of them come down the to the fact that you don’t really captain your own ship anymore. Even early in a marriage a guy can trick himself into thinking he sets the agenda, but kids change that pretty quickly.

Having said that, I can’t complain a bit because the highs are so high. Today I rode the train down to the MOA (Mall of America) to watch a jr. high band performance, and afterward my son said it would be fun if I stayed and had lunch. It was fun. There are few places on Earth I would avoid more than the MOA, but on a quiet day with a son and a few buddies it was great.

Families and friends for all kinds of reasons complicate our lives. They drive our agendas and they drive us nuts, but in the end few of us can imagine life without them. In the bigger and smaller things that have come along lately I can see that.

I know that as I have struggled for freedom over the years, it hasn’t really brought much satisfaction. It is in the collective of a great family, great co-workers, great teammates where the most satisfying things have come from. Right now I’m part of some great groups, I have great family, a good place to work, and a great church. What I notice everyday though as I come and go to work is that their isn’t a lot out there. It makes me feel both blessed and motivates me to try and get involved in more things that build the community that is lacking in so many lives.