Various Thoughts IX

No time for essays, but thoughts that have crossed my mind.

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Segregation is back. Voluntary. Proud. There was a commencement ceremony “for black graduate students at Harvard.” That was the declaration of an article yesterday in the New York Times. (I don't generally accept at face value what I read in the Times, but this had a picture to demonstrate the point. I don't think it was “photoshopped.”) Were caucasians excluded? And were “straight” students barred from the “lavender” ceremonies at the University of Delaware? And what about other similar events across the country? We're turning away from a common purpose and a common destiny.

There was a time when Americans were proud of their country and its people. They viewed their nation as a “melting pot.” Now the only ones proud to be Americans are those who have just gained citizenship. E Pluribus Unum no longer applies. Our protests, disdain for each other, and rejection of our government have turned us into a conglomeration of communities that identify with their members, but not with each other and not with our country. It's not what our founders had in mind.

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I saw some robins a few mornings ago and it got me wondering about their purpose? If you're a Darwinist you see them simply as a step in the evolutionary chain and they have no particular purpose otherwise, except as the ancestors of future species. But perhaps you accept the existence of a deity and the purposeful creation of all forms of life, each with a reason. While that presupposes a use for all of them,

Rabbi Judah said in Rab's name: ... He did not create a single thing without a purpose ... " (Talmud – Shabbat 77b)

and the Bible tells us that they're for our food and our enjoyment, I know that within my religion – Judaism – there is no tradition of eating robins, which pretty much excludes it.

I suppose, then, that enjoyment is the key. I must admit that my spirits were raised when I saw them. In addition to the joy I felt as I watched, their presence told me that Spring was here. And that's good enough for me. I may not understand the secrets of the universe, but I'll enjoy what I can.

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N. B. My mind is going. And my memory of what I wrote and when is failing as well. I tried to code my essays as I went along, but I didn't do that very well. And my time schedule lacks precision as well. I know that I have essays written and scheduled for publication as far ahead as August 2018. Of course I'm not going to read them so I'll continue in my ignorance of what I said.

Because I'm so far ahead, and some of what I've written will not age well, I've just stuck some things in with the dates they were produced. If you want, you can search for news items at about the same time, and they'll provide context for what I say, though I may have said it before.

It's all good though. I know that I'm repeating myself, and I'll likely continue to do so. Since I try not to reread what I've written I don't get the reinforcement that that might provide. But it's not my problem. It's yours. (I've probably said that already too. So be it.) Deal with my warning as you see fit. (I'll probably repeat it as well when I've forgotten this note.)

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I can't write about all my thoughts, but some of them my be worth your consideration, even if they don't warrant fuller exposition.

June 4, 2017