LITIGIOUS: excessively or readily inclined to litigate

It's something that has bothered me for years. I've watched us become a nation which is addicted to litigation. We are a litigious society.

There was a time within my memory when the act of suing someone was more isolated, reserved for only the most serious events. It may be that I was raised in a fairly blue collar community, a small town in Upstate New York. Neighbors were considered personal friends, and...the town being only about 8,000 people...almost everybody was considered a neighbor. Disputes, for the most part, were settled face to face in a reasonable manner.

There was less mobility of families then; people tended to grow up, get married, get a job, and buy a house in town and live there for the rest of their lives. It wasn't unheard of for someone to migrate elsewhere, but it was more unusual than it is today. Consequently, people had to live with "the neighbors" for the rest of their lives. Suing them for some infraction was awkward, and created tensions that would be hard to avoid down the road.

Today, however, it seems as if when some kind of infraction occurs the first thing toward which people gravitate is calling the lawyer and commencing litigation. It is especially the trend when a large company or deep pockets can be involved.

Litigation process today calls for extending the suit to everyone who possibly could have any connection to the infraction. A slip and fall on the sidewalk in front of a clothing store can lead to suits involving the municipality, the owner of the clothing store, the company that laid the sidewalk, the provider of the cement, the manufacturer of the shoes the person was wearing, the by-stander who responded with help, the ambulance service, the emergency room staff, the doctor treating the wound, etc., etc., etc. The litigation plan is to get money from every available source, no matter how obscure.

Greed is at the core of much litigation. Many times it starts with the attorney and extends quickly to the victim, the victim's family, and anyone else involved. Frequently the goal is not related to securing a verdict...it is to get a settlement in lieu of litigation. I suspect too many people have watched Perry Mason or Law & Order on TV and have become amateur experts on litigation.

Frivolous litigation used to be a phrase more commonly employed than it is today. I suspect it is more difficult to find the boundaries between serious litigation and frivolous litigation.

In any case, I'm just expressing a frustration. I don't claim to be an attorney, and who knows? If I am wronged today, I may be one of those calling an attorney to pursue litigation. I would like to think that I might be slower on the attack than I have described, but don't hold me to that.


Photo Credit: Ingram Publishing

IRENIC: tending to promote peace or reconciliation; peaceful or conciliatory.

Tea Parties, shouting Senators,
Tweets filled with angry words,
Becks, Limbaughs, Foxers,cynics,too,
Birthers and lemming herds.

The fury of these months gone by
has weakened...undermined...
a nation seeking after change;
a nation redefined.

The doubts and rumors planted in
the minds of frightened folk
have blosssomed into warlike thoughts,
their hopes gone up in smoke.

Persistent visions stay the course,
no critics' words deter
a man who's grounded deep in hope
though critics don't concur.

Irenic options fill his mind
while wars still rage and fume.
His hope for peace against all odds
escapes the critic's gloom.

Pragmatic methods seem to cast
confusing signs about.
Can guns and bombs and violence
produce irenic clout?

A longer view, beyond today,
persists and sets the plan.
The field must face disruption first
before the seed expands

and pushes forth a shoot of peace.
The weeds and tares must die.
The fertile land must feel the rains
before the sun can shine.

The shoots and stalks must lie in wait
of days when peace will bloom.
When terror has no place to thrive;
when peace won't give it room.

Idealistic dreams can live
if trust and faith persist.
More potent than the guns of war,
with strength peace can exist.

Upon irenic rocks are built
enduring bonds of peace
which words and rumor cannot break
and scorn cannot release.

Jedword 12/09


Definition credit: Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Photo Credit: http://www.peacegallery.org/

AL QAEDA: a network comprising both a multinational, stateless arm and a fundamentalist Sunni movement calling for global jihad.

I have made reference to Al Qaeda numerous times over the past several months. My assumption has been that because the term is used so frequently in the media and in political speeches, people must know what it means. The reality is that some people don’t have a clue what is meant by Al Qaeda. Maybe it’s time to take a look at the term and break it down so it can be understood.

The difficulty in doing that is that Al Qaeda is a fluid, constantly moving organization, changing its face as rapidly as is required to avoid elimination. But at the base, there is a clarity which can be discerned. This is a very, very limited explanation, but maybe it will help.In the definition above there are five words which are constant.

*Al Qaeda is multinational. While efforts to curb the spread and influence of Al Qaeda have been focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan, it would be a serious mistake to think that the militant organization is located in any one country exclusively.

*Al Qaeda is stateless. One of the mistakes people make is to treat a war against Al Qaeda like other wars which have pitted nation against nation. This terrorist organization is not responsive to any singular government, any treaties or pacts between nations, or any political entity. It is a movement more than a nation.

*Islamic Fundamentalism is a basic characteristic of Al Qaeda. Strict interpretation of teachings from the Koran is common to the disparate cells of the movement, although those interpretations are disputed by many Islamic scholars. The rigidity of the teachings of Al Qaeda is such that it points to violence against those who do not espouse the same interpretations.

*The particular sect of Islamic fundamentalism present in Al Qaeda operations is that of the Sunni. Fundamentalists in the Sunni sect espouse violence as a means of enforcing Islamic law.

* Jihad is a term used to describe a strategy, or plan, held by Al Qaeda to eliminate the perceived enemies of the movement. It is commonly referred to as a “holy war,” either to affirm Islamic principles interpreted by Al Qaeda or to improve the perceived spiritual state of an individual. It is important to remember that this application of jihad is limited to fundamentalist movements such as Al Qaeda and is rejected and condemned by most Muslim believers. One of the perceived enemies of Al Qaeda is the United States of America.

The threat of Al Qaeda is real, is dangerous, and is not to be taken lightly. The commendable goal of ridding the world of the leadership of Al Qaeda in order to cripple or destroy the movement is idealistic, but possibly unattainable. No one knows if the elimination of the current leadership will remove the possibility of other, emerging leaders of similar ideology. The rapid spread of the movement throughout the world is frightening and worthy of the energies being spent to diminish its effectiveness. However, the methodology of achieving that is in dispute.

We in the United States have the specific memory of the terrorist destruction of life on September 11, 2001,under the direction of Osama bin Laden, to stimulate our passion to destroy Al Quada. However, the failure of the US Government to sustain its energies against Al Qaeda, coupled with the diversion of the Iraq War, have, perhaps, limited our ability to succeed in eliminating this evil movement. The delay in serious action led to rapid expansion of the movement throughout the world.

What is missing in this attempt to curb Al Qaeda jihad is the strong resistence of other Muslims. Strong opposition to Al Qaeda is limited to non-Islamic forces while most of the Muslim world watches.

Photo credit:smh.com.au

RIGHT BRAINED: being more adept at spatial and nonverbal concepts and being more creative and emotional than logical and analytical.

I'm not good at math. I mean...I'm really not good at math. In undergraduate school they offered what one might call "Math for Dummies" in order to allow people like me to fulfill the math segment required for graduation. I liked the course so much that I took it three times. Finally I squeaked through.

It was frustrating for me. I was a good student, considered intelligent, and was able to accomplish at a reasonably respectable pace. But when it came to math I was abysmal. Nobody around me tried to explain it. They just said I needed to apply myself more. It took a psychobiologist, Roger W. Sperry, to explain it, when in the 1960's he published a series of papers identifying the phenomenon we now understand to be right brain/left brain dominance. He won the Nobel Prize for his work in 1981. For people like me who were annoyed and perplexed by this attribute, it was well-deserved.

Being identified as a right brain person helped me (and those around me) to understand that I am more inclined to see things with a global bias. I see the trees in the forest, but have to concentrate to focus on one tree. I have a horrible time finding a person in a crowd. I am more inclined to pay attention to one's manner and have a tough time remembering what they were wearing. Details escape me and require special effort to be recalled.

It also means that I'm inclined more toward fiction than non-fiction, biographies being the exception. I am easily engrossed in a novel, identifying myself early on as being present in the storyline. The characters are real. When we left the theater this week, having watched the wonderful film, Invictus, I was exhausted, having played rugby in my mind for the past two hours.

It amazes me that I have taken to the computer. My use of it is not without frustration and occasional outbursts of defeat. Trying to teach me how to use something like a linking capacity took weeks of practice before I mastered it. Most people in my class got it right away. I can spend hours at the computer writing a screenplay or a novel, but eliminating unnecessary cookies is still a mystery to me.

I am drawn to art like a magnet. Don't ask me the name of the artist, or the date when the piece was created. But I can stand for an hour and discuss with you the feelings I have in studying the piece.

I have great respect for left-brain thinkers. So much so that I am inclined to leave the calculations and explorations of science to them. I trust them. But it is only on occasion that I can understand what they have gone through to create a sophisticated piece of equipment. And, to be faithful to the findings of Sperry, it is clear that everyone has degrees of the opposite hemisphere in their experience. No one is exclusively right brained or exclusively left brained. The key is the word dominance. We find one hemisphere of the brain to be friendlier than the other, but...just in case...we stay on speaking terms with the other hemisphere. How's that for a right-brain explanation of a complicated idea?

Photo Credit: This illustration of famous novelists is found at www.novelguide.com/
Definition Credit: Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: property that results from original creative thought, as patents, copyright material, and trademarks.

Artists, writers, poets, and musicians are faced with the issue of protecting their products from theft. They are forced to register their products under a legal process which is called "Intellectual Property Law." It is not an easy process, and it is not foolproof.

It's hard for such artists to make a living at their trade. People are skeptical of the originality of their concepts, and frequently are ready to challenge them in order to make money. Intellectual Property Law, therefore, is a necessity...and like any other form of litigation, it is more properly applied in advance rather than after a challenge. An artist registers his or her product with an appropriate agency, verifying the date of its creation and a basic description of its application.

Yesterday, for instance, I wanted to use a panoramic view of the New York City skyline by photographer Andrew Prokos. His written information indicated that the use of his photos was available, but only after getting written permission from him. He says in his website that it may take up to 24 hours to receive that note from him.

Consequently, I went with a more inferior product, but wrote to him anyway, asking for permission to use his panorama. I received a very nice, personal note from him granting me permission, and instructing me in how to use a credit statement that would direct people to his website. Clearly, he is a professional photographer, and his goal is to sell photos. So, here is that panorama at the top of this posting, and you will find his photo credit below. I felt like I had gained a new friend in the process.

People abuse the copyright laws all the time. Sometimes it is unintentional, but most of the time, it is a bias on the part of the public that an artistic product, especially a piece of music, is not the same thing as a patented design for a new hammer or an HD television screen. They are wrong. Artists work hard to provide a product,whether it be a piece of music, a painted or photographed piece, or a written piece. They deserve to be compensated for that work. Music pirating is rampant, and the person who is harmed by it is the musician who created the original piece.New intellectual property laws are more stringent, and the courts are taking them seriously.

Recently in Providence, the owner of an Irish bar was fined heavily for hiring musicians to perform in his bar who played music for which they had no composer permission. It shocked the public, enraging those who were ignorant about intellectual property law, but it was proper, and stood to make a point. Perhaps it was the first time some people saw the application of the law "up front and personal."

Litigation should not be the prominent feature of commerce that it is in the United States. I think it should be a matter of last resort, when everything else fails. But many times, in the case of intellectual property theft it is the only way to get the attention of the public. Artists of all shapes and hues have to be better business people if they are to survive economically.

Photo Credit: NYC Photography by Andrew Prokos
Definition Credit: Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.

SUPERLATIVE: of the highest kind, quality, or order; surpassing all else or others; supreme; extreme

Frequently I am critical of those who gravitate to superlatives without restraint. Everything is the greatest, the best, or the most wonderful. There are no gradations, no limitations, or no less than outstanding. This is especially true when people talk about their children or their grandchildren.

But last night we sat in a restaurant on the shore of Weehawken, New Jersey, and gazed at the skyline of New York City, ablaze with its usually colorful lights, but even more festive with seasonal lighting on some of the larger buildings. IT WAS SPECTACULAR.

It occurred to me that a huge number of people who live and function in New York City may never have (or take) the opportunity to go to a place like this restaurant to see the magnificent painting we were drinking in. With their usual, day-to-day functions, complete with complaints about traffic, trash pickup, snow removal, and the cost of living, they may never know how absolutely unbelievable this city is visually.

What a privilege to be able to see this superlative accumulation of structures. There is a school of art known as urban landscape. I can't imagine a more breathtaking example than this painting against the darkening sky. In New York the sky is never truly dark; the urban lighting is such that there is always a sense of manufactured daylight.

Later in the evening we ventured to the top of the Marriott Marquis hotel where a restaurant spins slowly to take in a 360 degree view of the center of Manhattan. Again, the sight is breathtaking, a testament to the creativity and splendor of two centuries of architecture.

In spite of my aversion to superlatives, I can't and won't be restrained in my expression of awe at the beauty of this panorama. It is incomparable. Superlatives cannot be spared.

Photo Credit: http://www.allposters.com
Definition Credit: Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.

INCARNATION: the Christian doctrine of the union of God and man in the person of Jesus Christ

Christmas Eve in New York City was everything I wanted it to be. After a beautiful day on wonderfully-crowded streets, an incredible time in FAO Schwarz watching the magic in the eyes of children and an outstanding dinner at Paola's on the Upper East Side we found our way to St. Bartholomew's Church. In yesterday's post I laid out my expectations for our celebration of Christmas Eve. It was everything I hoped for...and more.

The dynamic Rector of St. Bartholomew's, William Tully, preached what has to have been one of the best Christmas sermons I have ever heard. The key to it (for me) is that it was about Incarnation, not gynecology. For years the issue of the Incarnation has been central to my own theological perspective...and for the most part I have been disappointed in much of what has passed as Christian theology on the subject.

Many, if not most, Christians are too tied up in the gynecology of Mary. Her virginity is a great fascination for far too many people whose opinions have helped shape Christian thought. The term "the Virgin Mary" has been subjected to centuries of scrutiny, and for the most part it has been men who have done the scrutiny! Does that explain the dilemma? I think it has an impact on the results of that scrutiny.

Father Tully didn't even mention the issue. He chose, instead, to identify his theme for the Feast of the Incarnation in the context of the well-known parable told by Jesus: the parable of the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:11-32) It is the story of the errant son who trashes his father's gift of an inheritance on seedy life choices, and returns to beg forgiveness, only to find his father ecstatic that his "son who was dead has returned."

This, Father Tully, says, is the key to the Incarnation, that in Jesus, God has delivered a message of forgiveness, incorporation, and wholeness...regardless of our bad choices. No scrutiny of Mary's credentials, no confusing theological terms about the physical/divine nature of Jesus' person...just a beautifully crafted message of forgiveness and incorporation. It was wonderful...and welcome.

Threaded into a lovely setting, a well-done liturgy, outstanding music, and a packed congregation, it was a moment to be remembered for many years to come.

We topped the night off with a romantic carriage ride through Central Park and an end of the night drink in the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel. All in all, a memorable and meaningful night to celebrate not only Christmas Eve, but our daughter's birthday.

Merry Christmas to all...and I really mean "all."


Photo Credit: The site in the grotto of The Church of the Incarnation in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus of Nazareth may have been born. Photo by shelliedenise

BIG APPLE: New York City

It is 3:30 a.m. and we're about to throw the bags into the car and head for New York City for several days. Early for you? We have a 10:30 appointment in Manhattan and by the time we drive the four hours to get there, buck the morning traffic, get to our hotel and get settled, and then head to our appointment, we'll just about make it.

"Why bother?" some of our friends might say. Or, "Why would you even want to think about going to New York City for Christmas?" In our minds, it is a great idea...so here we go.

I've never thought about it until preparing this blog post, but I wondered why New York City is called "the Big Apple." So, I looked it up. It turns out that it's a term from the jazz world of the 1930's. A city with a good "gig" is called an "apple." This was especially true if the city was located in the North.

So...naturally, New York City...the monsterously larger city than others at the time, was called "The BIG Apple." The term relays the feeling many people (my family included) have for New York. It's not just a term which describes the size of The City; it has to do with the feelings we have about it. It ranks "big" in our minds and our hearts.

Today is our older daughter's birthday. She lived in New York City for several years, and has a natural affinity for it. Being in The Big Apple with her is always an adventure. Out of the way restaurants, sites that most tourists miss, and an incredible ability to make the most ordinary moment into an event.

I'm one of those people who gets a real rush in New York. The bustle of crowds, the smell of restaurant food wafting out onto the sidewalks, the cacophany of languages, the sometimes bizarre everyday fashions, and, of course, Broadway. My bucket list has included living in The Big Apple. I somehow doubt that I will achieve that bucket list dream, but living this close to The City makes it almost possible to get the thrill of living there while actually living a few hours away.

Time is wasting. I have to run. More tomorrow, Christmas Day, from the festive Big Apple.

Photo Credit: FreeFoto.com

HOLIDAY:a day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person

The controversy over what to say to people these days as a seasonal greeting can get silly. Granted, I prefer for people to say Merry Christmas when referring to the December 25 event, but I understand that it is uncomfortable for some. I find that strange, but I'm sensitive to that discomfort. I love to say "Happy Hanukkah" to my Jewish friends. I'm a little more uncomfortable about "Happy Kwanzaa" or "Blessed Ramadan," as I know that some African-Americans are not supportive of the holiday created for African-Americans to celebrate their heritage. And I've never been sure that Muslims wanted non-Muslims to acknowledge Ramadan.

So, to be truthful, "Happy Holidays" is not a bad thing to say. It's a little bland, but it covers the gamut. Probably by being generic it loses some of the steam intended.

It has been my understanding that the word holiday was a simple spelling variation on the words holy day. Consequently, I was surprised when I went to the dictionary and found that I had to scroll down a ways in the listed definitions before I came to a reference to Holiday having something to do with religious celebrations. I suppose it's implied in the preferred definition above, but I thought it would be more prominent a definition.

Just out of curiosity I went to a website called Holiday Insights. I was curious to see what they could add to my research. I typed in December 25 and found what I expected, that it is a day on which most Christians celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

But to my amusement, I was surprised to find that December 25 is also known as Pumpkin Pie Day,a day on which some people celebrate the glories of pumpkin pies. To be fair, the day only exists, it tells me, because it is one of the most common American foods eaten at Christmas. I have to say that I have never had anyone tell me "Happy Pumpkin Pie Day"...and I'm not sure I'm comfortable trying it out on friends. It sounds to me like a creation of some commercial institution, such as a company that provides canned pumpkin pie filling. I don't know that for sure, but doesn't it sound likely?

I'm equally suspicious of other "holidays" that have become popular in our country, such as Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparent Day, Children's day. I refer to them as Hallmark Card days. Any excuse to get people to purchase cards, flowers, and other gifts during a slow season. I'm not stupid enough to ignore Mother's Day, and I enjoy the special treatment on Father's Day, but I do acknowledge the flaw.

Most of my Jewish friends are not only comfortable, but enthusiastic, about saying "Merry Christmas" to me. They seem to get it, that for Christians it is a special holiday...a holy day...with theological significance. That aspect of Christmas has faded for much of the population, for whom it is a secular holiday more focused on gift-giving and gift-receiving than anything else. My limited cynical side recognizes that the holiday has been co-opted by commercial enterprises. But we'll celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve at Saint Bartholomew's Church in New York City, where a magnificent choir, inspired preaching and an awesomely-beautiful setting will inspire us. More on that in a couple of days.

I'll practice my "Happy Pumpkin Pie Day" greeting, but don't be surprised if I don't say it to you.

Photo Credit: Copyright 2000-2010: holidayinsights.com © By Premier Star Co.
Definition Credit: http://dictionary.reference.com/

SCUPPER: to prevent from happening or succeeding; ruin; wreck.

There I was, opening my favorite newspaper, The Martha’s Vineyard Gazette, which had just come in the mail. I love this paper. It is huge, forcing me to extend my arms widely in order to hold it. It is filled with all kinds of great stories written by great writers.

But then I saw the headline: Financial Shortfalls to Scupper Some Affordable Housing Plans. I read it again to be sure I had seen it correctly. Yes, there it was: Scupper. I have never seen the word before, and now I know why.

Scupper is a boating term, referring to the built-in device to remove excess water from the boat, preventing the swamping of the boat. No wonder I didn’t know the word…I’m not a boater. I’m not even comfortable on the water.

But my curiosity wasn’t satisfied by this discovery. The use of the word Scupper in the Gazette headline didn’t compute. Looking down the list of definitions in Dictionary.com, I found it: Scupper: to prevent from happening or succeeding; ruin; wreck. Now it all made sense.

What a great word to describe what we have been watching take place in Washington over the past several weeks:

1. Threats of filibuster. Confusing Jimmy Stewart movies. The season calls for It’s a Wonderful Life, not Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

2. Sleep deprivation. Taking advantage of the knowledge that college-educated, white men over the age of 50 can’t function after 9:30.

3. Reading of the bill. Making sure that congressional clerks earn their salaries.

4. Calling down snow. Crippling travel, creating claustrophobia in D.C.

5. Holding a party hostage. Making sure Nevada and Louisiana aren’t forgotten.

6. Diversionary tactics. Slamming each other. Sticks and stones. Wastes time and avoids dealing with reality.

7. Grandstanding. Living out a fantasy of being a game show host on TV.

8. Writing fiction. Reporting imaginary facts which require time to clarify. It's like What's My Line?, a fifties game show where you have to figure out who's telling the truth.

9. Hiding the Bill. Playing Hide the Bacon, a childhood game where the object is hidden and the person who finds it wins the game.

10. Waiting for CBO. A congressional drama based on Waiting for Godot. There’s an awful lot of dry dialogue by people sitting on a bench waiting.

Scupper turns out to be a really great word. Lends itself to all kinds of metaphors and subtle allusions. It is descriptive, colorful, and carries with it the scent of decaying ocean kelp washed up on the rocky shore and buckets of fish bait stored on the deck of creaking fishing boats…waiting to be tossed into the churning sea and gobbled up by voraciously hungry fish unaware of the concealed hooks.

Definition credit:Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Photo Credit:www.moodymarine.com

PYRRHIC VICTORY: a victory or goal achieved at too great a cost.

Item #1: This past week the President went to Copenhagen to address leaders from around the world. The topic was the environment and the continuing threat to it by industrial nations. The hope was to come away with a major agreement on limitation of release of damaging gasses into the environment. Even before he left for Copenhagen, President Obama knew that the possibilities for that agreement had disappeared.

However, during the time he spent in Copenhagen the President was able to extract a verbal agreement from the leaders of China, India and South Africa regarding a willingness to continue to participate in strategic conversations which could lead to such limitations eventually. That was seen by many as a significant step toward reducing global warming.

His detractors in Congress labelled his accomplishment as a Pyrrhic victory.

Item #2: On Saturday 60 Senate Democrats came to a consensus that the bill being shaped by Senator Reid was capable of being placed before the Senate for approval by the entire Senate. There had been a lot of give and take among the Democrats, finally focusing on a Senator from Nebraska who extracted bill-limiting concessions in return for his 60th vote. Republicans were caustic in their response, saying the process was embarrassingly flawed. A a number of liberal Democrats were angry, saying that the Nebraska senator had blackmailed Senator Reid into concessions which destroyed the central purposes of the bill.

The President breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that a limited, but historic, step was being taken, and that his administration could claim that as a victory. His detractors labelled this as a Pyrrhic victory.

I don't know about you, but I had to go to the Internet to discover the meaning of this term which had been used twice in a single weekend's media reports. I knew that I had heard the term used before, and I understood the intent of the comment. But I didn't have a clue what the word Pyrrhic victory meant. The fact that Pyrrhic was capitalized made me even more curious.

It turns out that Pyrrhus was a third century B.C. King whose forces battled the legions of Rome. The army of Pyrrhus defeated the Romans in several key battles, but each time the Romans were able to replenish their troops from the thousands of recruits waiting in Rome. Pyrrhus had no such capability, and commented something to the effect that if he continued to win such victories he would return home to celebrate alone.

Thus, the term Pyrrhic victory has come to mean a shallow victory with the possibility that such continued victories will result in a moral defeat. It is a colorful term, and one whose subtleties are not lost on anyone, especially the President.

The political climate in Congress is such that these victories by the President's supporters are hard-fought and significant. The climate is far less than Americans hoped for in the election of Barack Obama as President and the overwhelming Democratic elections in both the House and the Senate. This was to have been an historic era, during which great progressive steps could be taken toward a new system of governance in this country. However, that is not to be, at least given the current climate.

Republicans in Congress are determined to undermine and destroy the Obama administration. I'll leave it to you to articulate the reason for this phenomenon. The reasons may vary, both in their stated purposes and in their more subtle sub-texts. At the same time, Conservative Democrats have chosen this moment to exert an ideological battle within the party. The Democratic Party traditionally is known as a volatile bunch, so it's not a surprise that volatility has been demonstrated over such historic legislation. But the reality is that the current drama in Congress is a tragedy when it could have been a comedy (to use the language of drama.)

Clearly, the strategy being employed by Republicans is to affect the 2010 elections in the hope of changing the makeup of seats in Congress. They may well achieve that goal, although it is too early to be sure. But the more significant result of this strategy is that the very fabric of Congress is being weakened. The public perspective on Congress is so negative (deservedly so) that an anti-incumbent furor has been created. While the removal of some members of Congress as a result of this furor may not be all bad, it will be a Pyrrhic victory for those feeding the flames.

And the missed opportunity that the Democrats have to effect an enormous transformation of the governance of our nation is tragic. The small victories of the Conservative Democrats also will turn out to be Pyrrhic. This opportunity for effective redesign of a governance system may not occur again in the lifetimes of the current population.

Photo Credit: Flickr.com
Definition Credit: Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.

BLIZZARD: a storm with dry, driving snow, strong winds, and intense cold.

Today we are in the midst of a blizzard. It was predicted two days ago, but even the meteorologists didn't know for sure how significant it would be. It all depended upon whether this offshore storm stayed the course or turned and went out to sea. It stayed the course. The latest forecasts call for 12-18 inches of snow before the storm is over.

This morning the world around us is covered with snow and those who demand a White Christmas are more relaxed. Those of us who aren't enamored with snow have co-opted their anxiety, trying our best to calculate just how long it will stay around.

I was surprised to hear the meteorologist, T.J. DelSanto, from the local CBS-TV affiliate, define a blizzard as having more to do with wind than snow. It turns out, according to him, that a winter snow storm with sustained winds above 35 miles per hour is a blizzard. I always thought it had more to do with the amount of snow. It doesn't. So much for my amateurish understanding of the word.

My adolescent image of blizzards comes from literature more than any other place. Stories of cowboys stranded out on the plains in blizzards. Sea captains trying to stay afloat during blizzards. Families seeking refuge in isolated farm houses during a blizzard. You get the drift.

It makes for good writing. The thrill of trying to get to safety before the storm hits. The valor of a horse or a dog who lead the way to a protected space. The cave found just in time, occupied, of course, by a cougar. And, of course, the stranded family in the isolated farm house is going to come face to face with a crazed murderer.

In reality, blizzards such as the one we are experiencing have more to do with automobile accidents, power outages, events cancelled (including Church services?), and farm animals needing food. True Rhode Islanders have rushed to the supermarket to get bread and milk, and have hunkered down in front of a fireplace, convinced that everything is under control.

There is tragedy and there is poetic beauty. Most of all there is a renewed sense of quiet, broken only by the crashing sound of a snow plow on a neighboring street and the scraping of a snow shovel on a neighbor's sidewalk. No planes overhead, no speeding traffic on the Interstate, no trucks delivering goods to local customers. Just quiet.

The blizzard will pass and normality will return. In the meantime, our frenetic pre-Christmas pace is brought to a grinding halt. Not a half-bad thing to happen.


Dictionary Credit: Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009
Photo Credit: Joel Achenbach

NOETIC: of, relating to, or based on the intellect*

Intelligence is one of those concepts which is easier to say than to define. Noetic is a word used in research circles to describe anything related to studying, discovering,speculating, or otherwise commenting on the intellect. The noetic data available fills huge libraries. Yet, most people would be at a loss to give a clear definition of what we mean by intelligence.

Intelligence is measurable (to some degree.) One's IQ (Intelligence Quotient) is one way of determining one's intelligence. But more and more there is some caution in the use of IQ. It, like any scientific tool, has limitations.

Most of us use a much more accessible tool: we talk to someone. It's not foolproof, but it works for most of us. The problem with it is that sometimes extremely intelligent people are not very articulate. The factors of intelligence and speech don't always coordinate.

But I'm not talking about scientific definition; I'm more focused upon the ability of someone to demonstrate some degree of intelligence by their words and their ability to express knowledge.

Something which is humorous to me is the way TV reporters are quick to shove a camera in the face of witnesses to a crime or some other tragedy. It amazes me that they don't edit out 99% of the commentary filmed simply because it isn't intelligent.

The same thing can be said about the current debates about health care legislation. I am awed (not in a positive way) by the inability of some Senators to express their answers to questions in a way that is intelligible...or even coherent. Much of it is live feed, so the reporter has no opportunity to screen it before it hits the airwaves, but then the interview is repeated over and over again, demonstrating nothing about the issue, but revealing a lot about the Senator. The noetic element is disastrous.

Probably it's not fair to select out a TV interview to be the criterion upon which one's intelligence is determined. But it is telling. And, for most Americans, it is the place where they have the greatest access to the spoken abilities of public officials. Sometimes the best answer a public official can give is "no comment." But politicians aren't like that. Their medium is public speaking, so it is unlikely that any politician will turn down an opportunity to speak live on national television.

The alternative, of course, is to prepare for such exigencies, and to have an opinion waiting. That gives the politician a chance to be somewhat clear in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers. But reporters are clever, often catching a subject when he or she is not expecting an interview. And the rapidity of questions can throw even an experienced public speaker off guard.

I can speak from personal experience. Once, when a candidate for public office, I was confronted by a reporter when I was in the midst of a taxing conversation with a colleague. My convoluted answer to his clever question became a disaster. It may well have led to my not being elected. I didn't sound very intelligent on the issue when it aired.

Analysis of television interviews is a highly problematic tool for noetic discernment. But it is telling.



*Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Photo Credits: Reuter's News Service and jrth.physik.uni-frankfurt.de
Joachim Reinhardt

CONSPICUOUS AUSTERITY:Spending large quantities of money on goods and services that convey an image of simplicity or austerity. (WordSpy.com)

I'm amused by current fashion which features $150 jeans which are ripped out at the knee, shaggy on the cuff, and missing a pocket. I think they are supposed to portray a well-worn, frugal style, indicating that "I won't throw them away just because they have a few holes in them." But at $150? There's something wrong with this scene.

And then there are the $600 tweed blazers you (not I) can purchase with elbow patches and mismatched buttons. It's a British thing, demonstrating the old "smoking jacket" style. All that's missing is a pipe and a comfortable leather chair in the well-stocked, cherry panelled library.

The idea is to look austere...in a conspicuous way. Conspicuous austerity is a variation on the idea of conspicuous consumption that is characterized by over-the-top purchases that broadcast the idea that you have spent a bundle on something. Like a Rolls Royce in your driveway, authentic diamond bling, or uncomfortable imported Italian shoes.

Conspicuous Austerity, on the other hand, is characterized by the spending of large amounts of money on clothing and items to make you look austere, or frugal. Can you imagine having to purchase austerity? Isn't that an oxymoron?

The emphasis on the term conspicuous austerity is on the word conspicuous. It has more to do with the broadcasting than the frugality.

We have friends who are very, very wealthy but who shop for many of their clothes in second-hand shops. That may sound like conspicuous austerity but, in reality, they are people who are sincerely frugal in their lifestyle and would (literally) give away the shirts off their backs to help someone in need. So it's important to be careful about labelling.

I'm not saying I'm immune to the style. My favorite jeans are frayed at the cuffs and have a couple of holes in them. They are my most comfortable jeans; they fit just right. But...they cost me about $40 around ten years ago. I never would have bought them in their current condition.

My wife keeps asking, "When are you going to get rid of those jeans?" My answer is, "Probably not right away." I do have to admit that the other day I took a pair of scissors to them, clipping off the frayed threads at the cuff and some errant threads around the pockets. But they're not going anywhere for a while.

So, to get back to the topic, why do you suppose affluent people want to portray themselves as needy? Why the torn $150 jeans, the patches on the $600 blazer sleeves, the mismatched buttons on the $300 blouse? Let me put on my therapist hat. I wonder if there is a need to portray comfort on an uncomfortable body. Could it be that anxiety about one's shape, tone, coloring, image is so demanding that it calls for a sign that "I'm really relaxed about all this" when, all the time, the anxiety is rampant? Maybe that's a stretch. It even sounds like it as I write it.

But, the bottom line is that it still seems a little strange to me to spend hundreds of dollars on fashion-designed clothing that one can purchase in a Salvation Army thrift store for a few dollars. Conspicuous austerity will remain one of those phrases that I place in the "mystery to me" folder.

LITERACY: the ability to read and write

I read online today that the city of Laredo, Texas, population 250,000, is losing its last bookstore. In a city with one of the highest illiteracy rates in the country, it is a tragedy. Truthfully, it is a tragedy by any calculation. A city without a bookstore is unimaginable.

Granted, there are other means of securing books. One can always go to the Internet and purchase books on Amazon.com. But let's be honest...in a situation where the literacy rate is so low, how many people do you think will take the trouble to go to the Internet to purchase a book? And...if illiteracy is so prevalent, what is the possibility that the Internet is even an option?

The library is a good option, and the Laredo Public Library indicates that they are busy. But the ability to own a book, especially for a young child, is something special, bringing with it an urgency to learn to master the skills of reading and writing.

Bookstores may be one of those places that we take for granted because we have them. And in places like Providence, they are plentiful. There is a variety of bookstores available and they all seem to be busy. Some are equipped with cafes and comfortable sofas; others are strictly stores with books for sale.

But overall, I am concerned about literacy in this country. From an early history of rampant illiteracy we sprang to being a country in which literacy was a significant value. With the onset of a more permissive society since the 60's, however, the prioritizing of literacy has slipped and continues to decline. Public education scrambles to improve the situation but serious involvement in education is hit-and-miss in both urban and rural settings.

Family prioritizing of reading has been replaced with addiction to television, video games, personal communication tools, and ipods. The practice of reading and writing with these instruments has been reduced to a whole new language with a form which rejects literary methods. Writing with a pen or pencil seems like it is limited to signing one's name on a credit card receipt.

Giving books as holiday gifts is a way to reverse this trend. Families who have "reading nights" when electronic instruments and television are turned off find their children engrossed in reading. Communities that sponsor summer read-a-thons, with prizes for children who read a hundred books experience the same kind of excitement. But that's a pretty middle-class picture, and a limited one at that.

It is an awesome thing to see the children in deprived societies clamor for the books which not-for-profit agencies distribute to them. They are highly-valued possessions. Perhaps it is abundance in our society that undermines that same kind of enthusiasm for reading. Harry Potter was a temporary reprieve from the slippery slope, and there is some hope that the vampire craze will copy it. But those are flash-in-the-pan kinds of things unless some intentional energy is exerted between popular publications.

I have a partial solution to this dilemma that swirls around in my head. I wonder what the result would be if there was an intentional project to show movie stars, rock musicians, athletes and other cultural icons reading and encouraging reading. (Assuming of course, that they can read.) I fear that reading has become characterized by many young people as a geeky thing...something that isn't cool. It couldn't be a temporary, seasonal issue, but something that became a regular part of television, movie, and magazine display for a decade or more. I'm not naive enough to believe that it, alone, would turn the nation around, but it might have an impact on a significant number of children and young people.

I hope some company will read the article in today's news about Laredo and rush down there and open a flashy, inexpensive, and bi-lingual bookstore. And then I hope the schools in Laredo make an effort to encourage the purchase and ownership of books as valued friends.


(Photo Credit: The Literacy Project.com)

WEISURE: Free time spent doing work or work-related tasks. (WordSpy.com)

We always joke about the postal delivery person who goes on a hike on her day off, or the carpenter who builds a garage on his vacation. There is even a phrase for it, "Postman's Holiday," although when I made reference to that term one day recently the much younger people with whom I was talking looked at me as if I was from Mars. I guess it's an archaic term these days.

But we all know what this term, weisure, is all about. I found it in the archive list of WordSpy.com, which is fast becoming one of my favorite blogs. It reveals that in my spare time I search out and read blogs that are related to this one. I'm guilty of weisure.

It would be easy to come down hard on weisure, to wax philosophical and describe the unhealthy aspects of spending free time at projects which are related to work. But I won't. Instead, I will point out that the reason I do it (and I suspect I speak for others on this matter) is that I enjoy it! It brings me pleasure. I learn from it. I enlarge my personal network. Is that all bad?

Of course, while I'm sitting at the computer researching blogs I could be walking, exercising, completing other chores on my "do list," or...maybe just doing nothing. I could be checking out the RISD museum, completing the Cliff Walk, or browsing the Athenaeum. I could be riding a bus downtown, sitting in on a court case, working on my new screenplay/putting finishing touches on my 'tween novel, or sending a short story query to a prospective magazine. I could be trying that new recipe I found in my wife's Real Simple magazine. It's not as if I'm without choices.

One of the joys of being in my new state of retirement, where writing is my only occupation, is that I have time to do whatever I want. What they say about retirement is true...my day speeds by and I never seem to have enough time to do everything I expected to accomplish. But that is true because I have time to read the entire New York Times every day. And I really can take my time doing a task, rather than having to rush through it, jamming it in before or after going to work. If there is a televised speech, an important event, or an interesting interview on television, I can watch it. My time is structured only by own design...with a little help from my wife.

And if I want to sit at the computer and check out blogs, I can do that, too.

I make it sound as if I'm spending hours and hours researching blogs. I'm exaggerating for literary emphasis. There's plenty of time to do all of those other things, and I probably will. Right after I finish reading interesting blogs.

Photo Credit: Home Page of Workaholics International Network

AFFLUENZA: extreme materialism which is the impetus for accumulating wealth and for overconsumption of goods (Dictionary.com)

Let's do a little current events review to begin:

$ Tiger Woods finds that being the first billionaire athlete isn't everything it was supposed to be.

$ Sarah Palin resigns as Governor of Alaska to go on a highly-compensated lecture tour.

$ Jason Bay rejects a Red Sox offer for $15M per year.

$ Banks pay back the US government the billions they were loaned so they can go back to paying their executives billions of dollars in bonuses.

That which these four news items have in common is affluenza, the pursuit of massive wealth. The word is a merger of two familiar words: affluence, meaning wealth; and influenza, a persistent and potentially dangerous disease. It may seem like a strange pair of words to combine, but when you get there...it works.

Affluenza is not restricted to the four news items with which I began. It is rampant in varying forms, even in our struggling economy. That is what makes it all strange. Here we are in the midst of an economy that almost tanked, in which at least 10% of our employable population is unemployed, and when people become homeless because their homes are taken away because they can't pay the mortgage. There may not be a fiscal depression in our country, but a huge number of the people of the United States are emotionally depressed.

And, in the midst of this, newsworthy people are amassing huge windfalls. That fact is not being ignored by the populace. Sports heroes are falling from grace, not only by their indiscretions, but by their images. Political wannabees are being looked at with a second look. And CEO's and bank Trustees are portrayed in the media as villains. Affluenza (many times at the expense of the general public) is the source of public anger:

$ Charities lose millions by Tiger Woods taking a sabbatical to try to repair his crumbling marriage.
$ The Republican Party shifts further and further to the right, leaving moderate Republicans behind.
$ Try to purchase a ticket to a Red Sox game. In order to pay out huge salaries, the cost of a ticket to America's Favorite Pastime is increasingly inaccessible to the average baseball fan.
$ Try to get a loan for a small business, or try to get your mortgage rate reduced.

The demonstration of affluenza is directly tied to public stress, and this is not a good time for that stress. The result is cynicism, which is not a good emotion when it is important to be about the process of rebuilding our economy.

Throughout this fiscal mess we have been experiencing, I have found myself increasingly angry with the Wall Street firms and the banks. The government has gone way, way, way out on a limb to secure them, potentially endangering the political future of the President and those in Congress. But the response of the financial industry has been tepid at the most. Clever schemes to protect its disposable wealth at a time when the nation's economy is crumbling have been nauseating. Over and over I hear commentators use the phrase "Wall Street just doesn't get it!" That's not a simplistic statement...I think it is a profound statement of reality.

At a time when the banks and Wall Street could be heroes, they have chosen instead to be scoundrels. Is it any wonder that people question the viability of capitalism? I'm not ready to give up on capitalism, but those responsible for maintaining a capitalistic equilibrium must join the effort. Their economic narcissism is offensive and potentially disastrous.

Photo Credit: newsweek.com

ROGUE:

I thought the list of definitions for rogue was interesting, so instead of picking one, take a look at the entire list as shown by Dictionary.com:

ROGUE:
1. a dishonest, knavish person; scoundrel.
2. a playfully mischievous person; scamp: The youngest boys are little rogues.
3. a tramp or vagabond.
4. a rogue elephant or other animal of similar disposition.
5. Biology. a usually inferior organism, esp. a plant, varying markedly from the normal.

Isn't that interesting? Over the past several months those using the term rogue seem to have rejected these definitions in favor of one they have chosen to create. It looks like this:


ROGUE: a strong, independent person who emerges from the pack
to be seen as one who embraces qualities not to be
polluted by traditional limitations.

Now, to be clear, there's nothing wrong with inventing new words, or adapting them to new meanings necessitated by changing values or usages which have become "the norm" in our culture. But I'm not sure this time the word rogue qualifies for that adaptation. Not yet, anyway. Not without some clear, well-publicized explanation that the word is being used in a different manner. Especially when the "new" definition is so divergent from the standard.

I suppose definition #2 ( a playfully mischievous person; scamp: The youngest boys are little rogues) could be employed as a justification, but only if the intent was, indeed, playful. However, the use of rogue over the past several months hasn't sounded playful...it has been used in a way that implies a serious, intentional activity which undermines a political party and leads that stumbling party into further disarray.

In my newly-adopted plan (starting today) to be more succinct and use less words I will leave it at that.

Photo Credit: cornerstonegroup

EARBALLS: The number of people listening to a radio station or concert, or visiting an online music site (WordSpy.com)

(Photo: NPR.com)

It's been kind of heavy for the past couple of days, so let's take a look at something a little lighter. Like earballs, a word being introduced into our lexicon which is the aural equivalent of eyeballs. Eyeballs are the number of people who are watching something at any one time. Earballs,therefore, are the number of people listening to a concert or a radio program on the Internet at any one time.

I don't have the slightest idea how they begin to calculate such things. It has always amazed me that the media reports that 6.3 million people watched a speech the night before on television. How do they know? Nobody ever called my house to ask what I was watching at 9:00 the night before! If I were a conspiracy-obsessed person I might wonder if there was a tiny camera embedded in my television to view the people in my household and their television habits. I don't think so, and I sure hope not. I don't want someone I don't know seeing me drool when I fall asleep in front of the TV!

But somehow companies who are interested in such things have the capability to know the number of earballs listening to a concert. I suppose if you are interested in ratings, that's something people ought to know. It's probably a good marketing technique because nobody wants to be left out of the latest thing, and if 1.5 million people were listening to Madonna's concert last night on the Internet, I don't want to miss her latest songs. I'll pull it right up and (hopefully) purchase it legally.

There is something about a herd mentality in this kind of information. I can't be too critical of it, because the same kind of thing happens to me when I read a review of a new book. If it captures my interest, I want to rush right out to Borders and purchase it. The fact that it is still in hardback and will cost me the equivalent of a car payment is irrelevant. I envy people who wait for it to arrive at the local Public Library. Their patience is something I've never experienced.

I have to admit something right now. I've never listened to a concert on the Internet. I'm not sure I even know how to do it. I'm more inclined to stumble onto a concert on NPR and enjoy it while driving. I guess that means that I'm not an earball. But since every time I say the word it has the same reaction within me as the word hairball I'm not going to worry about it.

DEMENTIA: severe impairment or loss of intellectual capacity and personality integration, due to the loss of or damage to neurons in the brain.*

The use of the word dementia is often wrong, based upon lack of good education about the dreaded disease. I have heard people refer to patients (often loved ones) suffering from dementia as "crazy, out of their minds, or berserk." These inappropriate and unfortunate words are simply products of ignorance and are demeaning to many wonderful people who have contracted a disease, much like a person develops cancer. The results of contracting dementia can be troublesome to those who don't understand the disease, so it becomes natural to dismiss the patient using derogatory terms to mask confusion, disappointment, and fear.

Dementia is a disease which physically changes the makeup of the brain and its ability at times to carry out even the most simple, familiar tasks. It is most common in the elderly, although there are numerous cases of dementia in younger adults, brought about more commonly by trauma, genetics or the onset of a related disease.

It is important to remember that dementia is an "umbrella" term which can be used to describe a number of diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's disease. There is a whole list of illnesses which can fall under the umbrella, but most people seem to be more familiar with Alzheimer's Disease and tend to treat the terms as if they are the same thing. They aren't.

Because of the loss of many normal functions and the onset of difficult behavior such as memory loss, loved ones may tend to deny the existence of dementia at first. Most elderly people experience some memory loss, so it is easy to dismiss the symptoms early on. Unfortunately, that means that many dementia patients aren't properly diagnosed until the disease has taken a greater toll, preventing the patient from having good care and quality life experience while the loved one in denial resists appropriate treatment.

People with dementia can be confused and demonstrate unusual behavior. But they, too, are struggling with the recognition of the onset of the disease, and require patience and understanding.

My wife is director of a wonderful facility which is home to 44 people with varying forms of dementia. They are lovingly cared for, entertained, stimulated to function, and treated as people with limitations. They are not ridiculed or treated like children. For the most part they are happy, and see their new residence as their homes. As the disease progresses they are supervised and evaluated. The primary point to be made is that they are shown love and affection. It is amazing to experience them as they dance, paint, play the piano and participate in activities to stimulate their cognitive skills.

As the disease progresses and the patient slips further and further into memory loss and related symptoms, loved ones may become stressed about the horror of the disease. In reality, the patient also is slipping into a life free from stress and may be less and less aware of his or her situation. A generalized happiness may be the result. It takes time for the loved ones to understand this.

Recently the husband of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor died after many years of experiencing dementia. Her way of supporting him in his dementia was outstanding and has become a model for others. Even when he "fell in love" with another resident of the facility in which he lived, she was supportive, encouraging his good feelings, and shifting the focus from her needs to his. There is no question that some dementia situations can be difficult. But with good care, appropriate supervision, and careful selection of programs for the patient, life can be pleasant...for the patient and the loved ones.

Reports in today's news tell of a 98 year old dementia patient who may have been responsible for the death of her 100 year old roommate. It is an example of an unfortunate situation in which the dementia wasn't given proper recognition and response. The result is unusual and, from my perspective, unnecessary. The case will have its own life, but should not be seen as normative. To the contrary, there could have been a more appropriate story for both persons involved.

Photo Credit:Telegraph.co.uk
*Definition: Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009

HANUKKAH: Festival of Light

Photo: Wikipedia

I had the privilege of sharing friendship with two wonderful Jewish boys when I was a kid. There were only a handful of Jewish families in my hometown, so it was unusual that these two boys ended up as my best friends for several years.

As a result of those friendships, I became inculcated with the customs of Reformed Judaism from an early age, and grew to an adult having warm feelings and emotional attachments to the traditions of Judaism. I was tempted to say that I didn’t always understand them, but that wouldn’t be true. The parents of my friends were good teachers, so the meaning of traditions was shared as happily as the candy, the matzo, and the gefiltefish. I was a good, little Christian boy at the time, drinking in all the stories and traditions of my own faith. They became melded with those of my Jewish friends, resulting in an appreciation for Judaism which is more than a fascination.

Hanukkah was one of the traditions I inherited from my friends. The story of the Maccabees and their heroic stance against the marauders was as important as the stories of the Crusaders, the Pilgrims, and the followers of Martin Luther. The mystery of the oil that burned in the Temple for eight days, giving light to the defenders of the Jewish holy place when it should have expired on the first day remains for me to this day a part of my spiritual story. I never mastered the dreidel and I never wore a yarmulke until I was an adult. But I did learn some of the words my friends were learning for their Bar Mitzvahs, and some of the Jewish folk songs that were part of their traditions.

Mostly, though, I was absorbed by the Jewish families into a mysterious, wonderful system of mutual respect and generational obligation. I was awed by my friend’s grandfather who lived in his home (like my grandmother lived in ours) because he was an elder, a carrier of the Sacred Word.

When I went off to college I moved easily among the predominantly Jewish students at the college where I (sometimes) studied. I dated a Jewish girl and was confused when she said we couldn’t get serious because it wasn’t allowed. I respected the holiday traditions and honored them with my classmates, even though I was confused by my own spiritual relationship and searching for a new expression of it.

I heard one of the members of the US Congress, a Mormon, say this week that he was sorry at times that he wasn’t Jewish. Commentators have expressed confusion about this comment, but I know exactly what he meant. There have been, and continue to be, times when I feel passion for the relationship Jews have with God. It is so real. Tevka, the main character in Fiddler on the Roof, talks with God like an adult man talks to his cousin. He rages at times, and tells God about how he is disappointed in Him. And he chides Him for making mistakes. That is the relationship I crave with God.

I am confused with Zionism, and wish the Israelis would treat the Palestinians with greater respect. I dislike Jewish mannerisms at times. I don’t like the clannish way in which some Jewish people group together and bad mouth “outsiders.” I am one of them.

But on this Hanukkah, as the first candle is lighted on the Menorah in Jewish households around the world, I light a candle in my heart. My hope is that a light will shine in the darkness of the world and bring Peace to the world…especially in Israel and Palestine, Syria, and the rest of the Middle East.

ברוך אתהה' א לוהינו מלך העולם...
"Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe..."

Networking: a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest

(Dictionary.com)



Networking, whether you are good at it or lousy at it, is a necessity in the fast-paced world of social or business engagement. It can be as simple as joining Facebook or as complicated as cold calling from a directory. For some it is as easy as breathing; for others it is frightening and nauseating.

My daughters are both unbelievably good at networking. Maybe there is a genetic code which kicks in on them, but it is almost impossible to go someplace without running into someone who knows one or the both of them. They both tell stories of being in obscure, out-of-the-way places, turning around and discovering someone they know, or someone who knows someone they know. Their social and business networks are vast. It is mind-boggling.

In a sense, networking is a way of "collecting" people. Some people collect dolls, some collect stamps, and some collect people. The levels of relationship in a social network vary, it would seem, from intimate to casual and distant. But each and every person in a social network is connected by threads.

Social networks need nurturing in order to function effectively. To that extent, the advent of social communication tools, such as cell phones, computers, Blackberries, and Twitter have blossomed into requirements for sustaining life in the 21st century.

It is fascinating (and frightening) to me to see little kids with cell phones and engaged in texting each other. We have all read the stories of the down-side of this. But there is an upside, as well. Social networks cross all kinds of barriers which previously existed and kept relationships pretty nearby and pretty monochromatic and limited. It is awesome to think about third graders texting new friends on the other side of the world as easily as one might pick up a phone and order pizza from the neighborhood pizzeria.

The implications of networking in this 21st century are endless. For someone of my generation the vision for those implications is limited to a great degree. But to social entrepreneurs who have grown up with a cell phone in their hands, there is no limit to the ways in which networking can occur and can benefit a social or employment situation.

When one goes about constructing a business plan in this decade, the identification of a network and the tools to maintain it is an absolute necessity. It involves not only technology, but socialization plans and cultural implications.

I will not go so far as to say that social networks being larger and broader than in the past is the same thing as saying that they are healthier. The accumulation of great numbers on a contact list does not equal quality of relationship. But there are variations on the norm that spark my imagination.

For instance, a friend who is Pastor of a large congregation in California has a "virtual youth group" made up of more than 750 young people who know each other only through their Internet relationship. They live in communities which are widely separated. They never meet in the same place at the same time. That which binds them together is their relationship to this pastor and her ability to teach them, counsel them, and inspire them through Online conversations and programs. Is it better than the traditional fifteen member youth group which meets on Sunday evening in the Parish House? Maybe, and maybe not. It is not a matter of being better, but of being different. It takes great skill on the part of the Pastor to maintain that virtual group in a way that breaks traditions and what were assumed as "givens."

Blogging is clearly a form of networking. In the few short months that I have been involved in this fascinating enterprise I have found new friends, re-kindled former friendships, and find myself contemplating ways of expanding the circle of people I call friend. My hope is that my network
of friends will expand in numbers, in make-up, and in purpose. Simply by reading this posting you are part of that network.

Photo credit: Netparty.com

PEACE: President Obama's take on it

I'm going to break my normal daily posting practice to add a second post. I have just finished watching the President of the United States speak after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. My reactions are fresh, not having taken the time to refine them or temper them. I have not studied the speech; I am reacting to it.

The pageantry and the speech were wonderful. I thought the commentators on MSNBC were accurate in portraying Barack Obama as a "theologian" in this speech. His way of incorporating his faith in speeches is not to quote scripture, something anyone can do by browsing a biblical commentary. His approach to the issues of theology is to explore them deeply. His grasp of profound theological concepts is incredible. In this speech he defined the Barack Obama theological perspective on Peace and War.Rather than recounting the catch phrases of the speech, I leave that for you to research as you watch television replays and newspaper and magazine accounts. I'm sure the whole speech will be reported in detail.

Rather, I want to confess that I was saddened by the experience. I know that I was not the only one feeling sad. I saw it in the face of President Obama and in the face of his wife. What should have been a celebration of a unique and wonderful moment in his life was stolen. Those who have spent the past few weeks chipping away at the decision to award Obama the Nobel Peace Prize have stolen that joy. In their attempts to define, redefine, prognosticate, and analyze the decision they have played roles of amateur psychologists and novice diplomats.

Something sparked the Nobel Committee to award this impressive prize to Barack Obama. It is a privilege given to this Committee and is not dependent upon the wishes, desires, opinions, or criticisms of anyone else. They saw something in Barack Obama that some people do not see. I suspect that we had a glimpse of it in his speech today.

But some people who have the media stage have not seen that characteristic...and probably never will. It is not in their makeup to recognize it. Instead, they will dwell upon their limited and immature understanding of human nature and human quality to deride and defame this man at a point at which people from throughout the world call him a man of hope, and a beacon of promise.

His humility in receiving the award required him to acknowledge his detractors, and to admit that he sees himself as far down on the list of people for whom this award could have been chosen. I think not. The irony of his role as President of a nation at war and as a recipient of the most prominent Peace Prize is not lost on him, and it is not lost on most thinking people. No one "earns" the award, or is "eligible" for it. It is awarded because a wise and carefully-chosen group of people understand the purpose of the award and the need to be prophetic from time to time in making the selection.

The President's point was that peace is something to be attained, but cannot be realized until those who reject peace have been disabled. The war in Afghanistan is necessary at this time to destabilize those who, in their flawed understanding of Islam, have waged terror on the world. Negotiations with these terrorists are not effective as they have adopted ideological stances which reject the decency, trust, and sincerity of those who seek peace. Peace is not the quality for Al Qaeda as it is for others. The Jihad they have declared has no place in it for the attaining of peace.

The President was depicted by some of the commentators on MSNBC as a pragmatist, not an idealist. They said he made that distinction himself in the speech. Pragmatically it is necessary to suffer the pangs of this war in order to attain the joy of peace. That is an Obama Doctrine, and it is not a sound bite or a narcissistic reflection. It is a theologically and diplomatically sound doctrine which embraces the yearning for peace which must come at a cost. Some will reject that notion; others will criticize it out of ignorance. But it defines this man, and it is a definition about which we can be proud.

This was one of those prophetic moments about which I spoke earlier. I'm sorry that it was such a sad occasion for the Obamas. They deserve better.

SCREED: a long discourse or essay, esp. a diatribe. (Dictionary.com)

I’ve never been known for brevity. Over my former career and into my writing career I hear it all the time: “You need to cut it down. Embrace brevity.” I know they are right, but I just enjoy writing so much that I get carried away. The next thing you know, a comment has morphed into an essay, or…a screed. I am told that the word comes from Middle English and is related to the word shred, as “to shred into fragments.”

That seems odd to me, as a diatribe is a long, angry essay. Shredding into fabrics indicates the act of making something, like a piece of fabric, smaller. But I think the key is in the word “diatribe.” A screed is something that shreds a topic, like a diatribe tends to do.

My first exposure to the word screed came in an essay by Robert L. Borosage in The Huffington Post.(“Size Matters… especially when it comes to Jobs”) He was saying that he suspects the report of the President on his jobs proposal will “elicit screeds about deficit spending” from his critics. I thought it was a misprint, but was delighted to find the word in Dictionary.com. It speaks the meaning of the word (Ononmotopoeia), not requiring a written explanation.

The President gets a lot of screeds these days, so I suspect he is becoming immune to the malicious tone of many of them. But I’ll bet the writers have never said to themselves, “I think I’ll sit down and write a screed to President Obama.” It takes an observer like Borosage to come up with the word.

Finding this word has been a reminder to me to temper my enthusiasm and write fewer words in each posting. I’ll try, but it’s like putting a case of beer in front of a practicing alcoholic. You can be sure the whole case will be emptied. The drive to continue drinking can’t be curbed. That’s part of the disease. I need a governor on my laptop which will flash a warning to me when I reach that “long” spot and am approaching the point where screed cuts in.

REGRESSION: the act of going back to a previous place or state; return or reversion. (Dictionary.com)

To progress is to move forward. How many times in the past months have we heard the conversation about the need for our country to progress out of this deep recession, out of a world view which casts the US as angry and dangerous, out of a mindset that marginalizes segments of our population? Those who embrace this energy are known in the media as progressives.

But, given the political style of the 21st century (so far) wouldn't you know that the positive word progressive has been cast as a negative! There are some...seemingly many...in this country who see progress as a dangerous, expensive, foolish, immature, ignorant, or socialistic direction in which to move. You can choose which ever adjective suits you, or add another which fits for you.

Believe it or not, regression has become a popular stance. I find it hard to write that sentence. It is unbelievable to me that there are those, including many who play significant roles in the federal government, who believe firmly that it would be better for us to go back to "the good old days" rather than follow the path to progress. What ever happened to the General Electric motto: Progress is our most important product?

It is a fantasy to believe that we can return to former days when things were easier. Those who foster those fantasies are too busy Twittering their latest thoughts to colleagues or using their Blackberries to book flights home for the holidays. Not only are the "good old days" a piece of emotionally reconstructed history, but the limitations of those days would not be effective in meeting the challenges of the 21st century. Regression is a flaw in thinking and acting brought about by fear of change.

Social legislation which focuses upon race, gender, poverty, and health care cannot be replaced with legislation which denies the progress made in those areas. The people of this nation have embraced past advances in those fields in a way that makes them givens in our thinking.

One of my mentors has advised that we must not be about the process of patching a worn fabric, but that we should be focused upon building looms upon which future generations can weave the fabric required by the needs of those times. We must trust the leaders of the future to have the wisdom to meet the needs of those times with fabrics which speak to those needs. Our ability to foretell those needs is limited.

Regression is characterized not only by desire to return to the past, but by the willingness to embrace the status quo as sufficient to meet the needs confronting us. In too many cases, the status quo is the very source of current problems.

As Congress faces the difficult tasks of creating a new health care plan, concluding our involvement in two wars, healing a global fiscal crisis, and embracing methods of protecting our environment, it is urgent that a progressive agenda be enacted which carries us into the future. Regression at this point would serve only to continue and deepen our difficulties.

VERISIMILITUDE: a statement which merely appears to be true (wikipedia.com)

Verisimilitude is a word that comes from the world of writing fiction. It emerged with the onset of fiction as a popular form of literature, causing some consternation among literary critics. Is the story meant to be true, or is it imaginary? How is the reader to know? What if the reader doesn't understand that it is not a true story? Each of these questions puts the responsibility on the author to acknowledge the truth or lack of truth in the story.

As popular fiction emerged in literature, the onus for determining the mindset of the story shifted more and more to the reader. In contemporary literature that is the understanding: the reader is to utilize his or her skills in sorting through the veracity of the story. The suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader became a function of verisimilitude, the ability of the author to create a reality base by which the reader can allow the suspension of disbelief in order to capture the essence of the plot without difficulty.

It is increasingly difficult to sort out the fictional aspects of writing from the factual reporting as the use of fantasy in literature explodes. The recent literary phenomenon, Harry Potter, is a prime example of the diminishing border between fantasy and truth. Verisimilitude is rampant, as fact and fantasy are woven skillfully by the author, JK Rowling. Her application of verisimilitude techniques establishes a reality base upon which the readers (particularly children) can allow their imaginations to soar, all the while accepting the reality of Harry and his friends.

In the 21st century the employment of verisimilitude is not simply a literary technique. It is also a journalistic technique. The clever utilization of fact, fiction, fantasy and fabrication (how about that for alliteration?) in journalism and commentary lead to confusion by the public about truth.

We are told that the young adult population of the United States is dependent upon the clever weaving of these factors, in humor, for its access to current news and events. My perception is that Generations X, Y and Z (if there is such a thing!) are skilled far more than my War Baby generation and the Boomers. Today's youth are bred upon a kind of literature (written, aural, and visual) which allows them to filter through the humor of Jon Stewart and The Daily Show in order to siphon the news as Stewart reports it. The onus on public figures is to be aware of the significance of this medium and treat it with the same respect as they might the 6:30 national news.

Verisimilitude has much to do with the appearance of reality in the midst of fiction. Thus, there is a pressure on those utilizing new methods of communication to employ verisimilitude in a moral and ethical manner. I'm not sure the rules for this have emerged clearly. 24 hour talk radio and TV, cable television, and easy access to the publishing field create a literary atmosphere which is rapid, sometimes clumsy, and often malicious. Verisimilitude as a literary technique is sometimes lacking.

THIEVE: to take by theft; steal.(Dictionary.com)

There we were, in the midst of a very tense game of Scrabble. My daughter and I have an on-going Scrabble tournament which has been in process for several years. At every visit the Scrabble board gets dusted off and we go at it.

She cackled as she inserted the word onto the board: thieve. I almost came out of my seat. “No way! There’s no such word!” I screamed. “Thief, maybe, and thievery. But there’s no such thing as to “thieve.” I won the point, of course, intimidating her into submission.

Then, late in the night this past Tuesday, an email was sent from her home to ours. It was simple. "Dave Letterman just used the word thieve. He asked Al Gore where he keeps his NPP, and AG responded that he wasn’t going to tell him. ‘What…you think I’m going to come over and thieve it?’ DL asked.”

I still didn’t believe it. I went to my friend, Dictionary.com and typed in the word.

”I don’t believe it!” I exclaimed. But whether I believed it or not, there it was:
“Thieve: to take by theft; steal.”

I was wrong! There is such a word. I have to admit, it’s probably one of those words more in use as an archaic word than one in common use. And leave it to Dave Letterman to be the one who forces the point!

Actually, I’m glad to have the word in my lexicon, in spite of the fact that I had to apologize to my daughter. I kind of enjoy those archaic words. I put such words as “abide, betwixt and forthwith” in that category. Not words I would expect to use in a blog, but they might show up in a novel or a poem.

My favorite quote from Shakespeare's Othello is:
"Who steals my purse steals trash. But he who from me filches my good name takes not that which enriches him, but leaves me a poor man indeed."
Now, substitute the word “thieves” for “steals” or “filches” and you have a very colorful quote…maybe not the way Shakespeare wrote it, but colorful anyway.

Do I sound like I’m scrambling? I am. I lost the point and I’m trying to make lemonade out of a lemon. Oh, well….