Random Thoughts

I don’t have anything to blog about.

Well, not quite true.  I do, but they are going to take time to develop and currently for my classes for the month of April I have three research papers to write, three tests to take, a timeline, and a final to take.   For some reason this is slowing me down when it comes to doing substantive posts.

So, since I am trying to do at least two blogs a week I thought I would do some free association and just post a bunch of random thoughts on random subjects.   Hey, it may not be my best blog, but I least I attained my goals – climb every mountain and so on.

Anyway, first random thought – how about them Republicans?!  Just when it seems as if their election season multiple foot in mouths moments forgotten they come along and provide new ones.

First, from the state that brought us such statesidiots as Sarah Palin comes Congressman Don Young and his use of “wetbacks” when describing how things used to be in the days of his youth on his father’s farm.

Yep, that will bring in the Hispanic vote for the Republicans.

And then there is Republican National Committee Dave Agema’s  facebook posting in which, based on an on line article (which we all know is totally reliable) “Everyone Should Know These Statistics on Homosexuals,” by Frank Joseph, M.D, posted that gays were responsible for “half the murders in large cities”, were sexually promiscuous, and were riddled with sexually transmitted diseases.  Oh, let’s not forget the child molestation and their being responsible for the high costs of our healthcare.

Way to stay on the wrong side of history Dave!

Oh, should also mention that today is not only Good Friday, but more importantly, Dindy and mine’s 33^rd anniversary.  Not only have we added on a few years and a few pounds since we were married but we have also added on a lot more love during those years.   Didn’t think it was possible to do that.   Looking forwards to another 33 years, and then another, and another.

Guess I could give a preview on some the blogs that I am not working on right now due to school.

One is a blog about Paul Copan’s book “Is God a Moral Monster?” in which he defends God’s morality against the attacks of the new atheists such as Richard Dawkins.  This one is actually a critique of the book and will consist of multiple blogs.   I already have the rough draft for the first three chapters (this only takes two blogs and that because I spend most of the first one explaining what I am about to do and why).

I suppose I could go ahead with that, but then there is a good chance that there would be a long gap between parts of the critique, so I prefer to wait and finish off the book.

Spoiler alert – so far Mr. Copan does not succeed in defending the literal reading of the Old Testament’s God’s morality.

Now, my other two blog ideas are just some random notes right now.  What is fun is they grew out of the research paper I am writing for my “Bible in Historical Context Class”.   This paper is about the use of the Bible to support both the abolitionist arguments against slavery and the slave owner’s arguments for slavery prior to the Civil War.

The first blog is comparing how the Bible is used and interpreted in relation to slavery, gay rights, and abortion.   There is a relationship between how the Bible is used and viewed by the abolitionists and Christians today in regards to slavery and to how those Christians in favor of gay rights are viewing the Bible.   Conversely for the slave owners of the 17^th – 19^th centuries, those few Christians who are OK with slavery, and those, more common, Christians who are against gay rights all share a similar view of the Bible.

However, the same is not happening in regards to abortion even though of the three issues it is the one that has the least Biblical support for being anti-choice and the most Biblical support for being pro-choice.

The other blog arising from my research is how the Bible and Christianity was used by the blacks in pre-Civil War America to resist the oppression of the whites – whether the whites were slave owners, fellow citizens, or abolitionists.   It is not something I had ever considered or known about until I started reading the poems of Jupiter Hammon and followed that up with some readings about blacks during that time and followed that up with an interesting discussion with Professor Day of the University of Texas at Arlington about this.

Not only is this going to make for a better paper (although I am going to be bumping up against the length requirements, probably) but provide material for an interesting blog about how religion can and does help a people and society   Atheists are all too aware of the drawbacks and harms but too many refuse to consider the good and positive aspects that can come from religious beliefs.   Hopefully this will stir up some good discussions when I get around to writing and posting it.

OK, lets see, what else.  Sun is out and shining.  Really wonderful day out.

I have come up with some more aphorisms, but not enough to update that blog yet.

Hmmm, didlle day do re doso,  ahhh,

Ah, I see I am at 932 words and going.  Nice respectable length for a blog.  Hopefully next week someone will say something that will spark a blog that I can write fairly quickly.  Otherwise I may have to do Random Thoughts 2 and I am not sure if I have that many thoughts.

Enjoy!

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Follow Up On Framing

Heard two arguments against allowing gays to marry today.  Both from conservative talk shows. 

 

The first one is from a talk show host who says no one has ever been able to answer it, which makes me wonder if he stayed around long enough to hear the answer.   It is in response to comparing the black civil rights movements with the current gay rights movement. 

 

This host stated that it is an invalid comparison.   Black men and white men are totally alike except for skin color and therefore it makes no sense to discriminate against blacks.  However he says that it is obvious that women and men are totally different  and that to treat gays as if they were women is wrong. 

 

OK, so let’s just go along a bit with the differences justifying taking a good hard look at the comparison between the black civil rights movement and the gay civil rights movement.     Let’s also expand the picture a bit and look at civil rights in general. 

 

Given this man’s argument then should women have the same civil rights as men?   After all, as he said, they are different.  And if this difference is enough to do in the gay rights movement then why not the women’s rights movement?  Would he be for taking away their right to vote, to hold public office, to have rights within a marriage, to own property, and so forth? 

 

The gay rights movement is part of a much larger Humanity Civil Rights Movement.  All of humanity has the right to have a voice and to participate in their government.   All of humanity has the right to be treated fairly and to receive equal treatment before the law. 

 

All of humanity has the right to the legal benefits of being with their adult and consenting partner of choice – whether of the same or opposite gender. 

 

Just as the Jim Crow laws violated the human civil rights of blacks, just as the prevention of women from voting violated the human civil rights of women, so too do the laws against gay marriage violate the human civil rights of gays.  

 

It is a Human Rights thing.  

 

As for the other argument that I heard today, from a different conservative talk show host – a variation on the previous talk show host’s argument.  He also mentioned the many differences between men and women and argued that marriage has always been an institution that joins the two together.

 

My response – “So?”

 

His short synopsis of marriage overlooks the various definitions of marriage over the years.  It has included multiple wives and occasionally multiple husbands.  At one time people of different races were not allowed   to be wed. 

 

Also the motivation for marriage has changed over the years.  Early in humanity’s history and up to modern times marriage has more often been about economics, business, treaties, alliances and so forth than the joining of a man and women in love.   Even the poor often arranged marriages looking a match that would be good for the person involved (if they were a good and loving family) but also one that would benefit the family – either through dowry, providing contacts and support for business or other ventures, and other practical reasons.   It is one reason that infidelity, especially for the males, was not considered a major problem and was, indeed, often quite common or even expected. 

 

Today though, at least in the United States, marriage is about formalizing a committed and loving relationship between a man and a woman.    I do not see a problem with continuing this change from the practical motives to one of love and commitment between two consenting adults.  

 

Marriage has changed over the years and I see no reason for not allowing this change too, and every reason to do so.   It will not harm my marriage, or anyone else’s.  It will not force those who are not gay to marry a same sex partner nor discourage those who are attracted to opposite gender to marry.  It will not force those who are against it to change their opinion and proclaim it a good thing or force ministers to marry those of the same sex even if the minister is against it. 

 

All it will do is allow two people who are committed to each other, who love each are to receive government recognition of their commitment even though they are of the same gender. 

                                                                                                                       

It is a Human Rights thing.                

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The Accurate Frame

Sexual perversions.  Sexual deviants.  Choosing sin and filth.  Obscenity.  Unnatural. 

 As is usually the case with issues that stir up the emotions, the answers lie in how you frame the issue.  Those who are opposed to gay marriage and homosexuality usually use some of these words when defending their views.  They wish to frame the argument like this: 

 

 However that is not the correct frame for this picture.  Instead this provides a more accurate framing:

 

 This is not about sex, not about “perversion”.  Not about a “choice”. 

It is about allowing two people who love and care deeply for each other but happen to be members of the same gender to have the same rights to express and act on those feelings as do those who have those feelings for someone of the opposite gender. 

It is not a sexual perversion issue.  It is a fairness issue.  It is a human rights issue.

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The Times Have Changed – A Belated Thanks

I am rather behind the times in writing this.  But then that is hardly surprising.  Normal day to day living can put a person behind on so many things – from the mundane such as yard work and learning Spanish to the more important such as telling loved ones that they are loved. 

This falling behind the times is even more pronounced when the times themselves are changing drastically.  Even if those changes are good and wonderful as well as scary and concerning. 

This is my attempt to catch up on one of the more important items that I am behind on – about six months behind in fact. 

I was updating my profile today to reflect some changes that occurred over seven months ago.  A mundane update.  However in starting this I realized that I really needed to do something more.   This change demanded something be done more important than just updating my profile.   

This is the something more.

In my blog profile I mentioned working as Operations Manager at a production facility.  I also made it clear that while it brought in some good money it was not one of my passions.   It was, however, OK and I didn’t hate it.  I did well, receiving good evaluations, promotions, nice raises, and had the respect of my people and peers. 

Things changed though a few years ago when our then Plant Manager left to take a new position with another company.  I was made interim Plant Manager and asked if I wanted to be among those considered for the position.  Given my lack of passion for it, the fact that I already was working more hours than I really cared for, and the fact that I did not wish to travel as much as the position would require – I declined and thanked them for seriously considering me.

After about four months of being interim Plant Manager they hired someone to take the position permanently.  Two months later I was beginning to regret my decision not to go for it.  As were many at the plant. 

I will not go into the details here other than to say that the man had good and innovative ideas, was very knowledgeable about the budgetary details and processes so important for Plant Managers, had extensive experience in setting up data bases that were useful in tracking the Plant’s process.  However his people skills and management style were abysmal.  He made the workplace very difficult to work for and, for me, turned what was a tolerable situation into one that was a nightmare.

He tended to accuse first and if you successfully defended yourself there was no apology.  He came across as abrasive, so much so that I had two or my people within the space of a month burst into tears under his questioning – and he wasn’t even in full chew out mode.  He either did not know or did not care to compliment people on what was done right, only chew on them.   He also was a poor communicator on his expectations and although he made the right noises about being willing to help if asked, his help was not really helpful.   

However, despite these flaws, he did make sure that the Plant was profitable and turned out a quality product.  As long as he did that no one at our corporate office was going to do anything about the manner in which he accomplished this. 

Given our financial situation at the time I did not feel that I could just quit without having another job with comparable pay in the hand.  And it needed to be in the area since Dindy had a nice job making the same amount of money I was.   I was looking but not having much luck in finding anything. 

So often the word “change” is a scary word.  Something to be avoided if at all possible.  Many, if not most, people usually use the word change in reference to bad things happening – such as my new Plant Manager.  However something happened then that proved that change can also be a good thing.

My wife changed jobs. 

Dindy had been looking for a few years for a different position in her chosen career.  Given what we were both making she could afford to be patient and she did like both her work and her employer.  Her patient looking paid off.  She found her dream job. 

It was in her career field, it was a promotion, the work atmosphere was great, the job more challenging and responsible – in short it was the best job she could imagine.  And what was even better, in terms of my situation, she was going to get a substantial raise.  One that would allow us to again start taking vacations to spots further away than the Texas coast or the Oklahoma parks.  One that would allow us to make some needed repairs on the house and even to improve it.  One that would allow us to build up our very low savings account.  One that would allow us to make investments and really start saving and preparing for a possible early retirement. 

Substantial enough where I no longer had to worry about getting a position that matched my current salary.   That was wonderful enough for me in and of itself. 

However the changes were not finished yet. 

In the middle of October 2010 I had taken two days off for a four day weekend.  I did so because I was about to lose a key person for maternity leave and I would have to help fill in and do a substantial amount of her work since we had no substitute who could do all of her functions.  Given that I wanted a few days off before starting on 70 hour weeks. 

I received a call from my work on my first day off, Thursday.  They told me that I needed to come in Friday because my worker was going to be starting maternity leave then instead of the scheduled Monday.  I knew that this might happen, so while disappointed was not surprised.  What did surprise me was the fact that my Plant Manager told me this came about because of my bad management decisions and then also questioned my ethics, implying that I had been hiding some information.   I was not given specifics on the phone.

After hanging up I spent a few moments ranting and raving to myself.   And cussing my Plant Manager.  After calming down a bit I decided that I needed to go talk to him and find out what management “mistakes” I had made and what information had I hidden.  First though I talked to Dindy.  Well, actually I ranted for a bit more.

I had made mistakes before – who hasn’t.  Although in this particular case I could not see that I did make any mistakes.  But I had never – never – never – had my integrity questioned by any Plant Manager (and I had been under three others before the current one) nor at any of my other jobs.  

After I had started to calm down enough where I felt I could go talk calmly with my Plant Manager Dindy then surprised me.  She told me to quit. 

She told me to quit even though I had no job lined up or even one on the horizon.

She told me to quit even though we had not had a good vacation in years.

She told me to quit even though we had not built up our savings or even started on our investments for retirement.

She told me to quit even though we had not done any of the repairs or improvements on the house. 

I was dumbfounded.  Delighted.  And scared.  We talked for quite a while about this.  She told me that she wanted me to enjoy myself again.   She told me that I had been difficult to live with – moody, short tempered, and not laughing as much as I used to – ever since this new Plant Manager had come on board.  She told me she was greatly concerned about my health and happiness.  She told me that my happiness and our happiness together mattered more than the money. 

She told me that she wanted me to look and pick a new career that I would enjoy and not worry about the money. 

After a great deal of assurances from her that she meant this I hung up and went to talk with my Plant Manager.  I did not go intending to quit.  I did go though to find out what he thought I had done wrong and why he was questioning my integrity.  And if I did not agree with the answers, then I would quit.  If we could work it out, then I would stay.

Needless to say I did not agree with his answers.  And so, when he told me I had to make a decision in regards to continuing to carry on the conversation we were having and making things more difficult for me or to just shut up and just deal with it I made a decision that he did not expect.  I quit my job of 15 years on the spot. 

Now I have decided, for various reasons, to take up a new career in medical technology – specifically radiology.  Although it will pay about half of what I used to earn once I attain my degree (in a couple of years) it will be enough.  And it will provide me much more satisfying career than the one I had.    

I have completed my first semester at TCC (all A’s – hoozah!) and as I write this am getting ready to start my first summer semester. 

Dindy’s salary is large enough to keep us going, along with whatever I bring in from a part time job.  Our house still needs repair.  I have a car with about 120,000 miles on it.  We will not be taking any long, exotic vacations.  We will not be retiring early (although we will not have to work beyond attaining our social security either). 

I am though much more relaxed and happier now.  Dindy and my daughters find me to be more fun to be with than I was before.  My life is not centered around my work and how to deal with the problems therein – problems made worse by having the most difficult boss I have ever had in 40 years of working. 

Both Dindy and I account this trade off a total win for ourselves. 

It is interesting that we are told that we live in a materialistic society.  To a great extent that is true.  Further, one of the charges that is often leveled against atheists by believers is that we are materialists and value only the material things of the world. 

This is further evidence, if more is needed, that many theists really do not understand atheism at all.  Humans are humans whether atheist, theist, or pantheist.  We share the same needs and desires, many of the most important of which – personal connections and satisfaction – go far beyond just the material.

Dindy’s support for me is just one example of this truth.  And one that I am and will be forever grateful for.

Thank you Beautiful.

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