Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Can legends be true?
"In the Chinese language, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters, one representing danger and the other, opportunity." -John F. Kennedy, Speech at United Negro College Fund fundraiser,April 1959.
In researching this quote I discovered that it is a mistranslation of the Chinese character for opportunity.
But does it really matter? Is the concept of crisis presenting an opportunity wrong?
If I can learn a true idea from a faulty proof or feel inspired by a fictional story- does it make the experience any less authentic?
Is the truth less valuable if the proof is faulty, flawed or fiction? Maybe the truth is in our conclusion?
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
When you trust someone...
How were referees
introduced into sport?
Surely the earliest
form of games developed out of a sense of healthy competitiveness. Two or more individuals
or teams, pitted against one another in a battle of strength, skill or wit.
Games were based
on trust and therefore the adjudication and fairness of a particular play or
move were left in the hands of the players themselves.
With the
development of the games came a corresponding raising of the stakes for winning
or losing, whether financial or just for prestige. Suddenly there was an incentive
to cheat.
Quickly, our
honesty was questioned and we doubted the testimony of our opponent. We stood
to lose too much, and our adversary gain too much. We could no longer trust or
be trusted.
To reinstate
fairness into the system, we introduced a neutral third party. These
arbitrators would act as objective outsiders, incorruptible and fair. This
ushered in the age of the referee ‒ policemen for sport.
Trust is at the
core of every relationship. If you have it, the relationship will flourish; if not,
it will perish.
In religious circles, trust was supported by using God as the referee. One would
take an oath or pledge using the name of God; the fear of taking His
name in vain would serve as an insurance policy, protecting against fraud and
deceit.
It seems,
however, that God's status as a referee has become inadequate even in religious circles. An oath in
the name of God has lost its value.
If players
no longer respect the referee, then the game loses all its integrity. If civil
society can no longer trust one another, then society will cease to be civil.
The risk of trusting is being deceived.
The risk of not trusting is far greater.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Cases of mistaken identity...
First there’s a man who says he’s a woman
Then a black woman who is really a white woman
And now a white woman who thinks she a sick woman
The first case won support, the second ambivalence and the
third scorn.
All cases of identities misunderstood, misconstrued or
ill-conceived.
It seems that the once obvious question of identity is no
longer obvious....
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