Indispensable

He was called the "father of his country," not just by historians many years later, but by his fellow citizens living in his lifetime. Some have called him "the indispensable man," i.e. the founding of America couldn't have happened without him.

Other leaders wrote the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution and the Federalist Papers. But Washington led his country through the War for Independence and through two terms as its first president. He shot down the idea of becoming their king.

Thomas Jefferson commented that the "moderation and virtue of a single character probably prevented this revolution from being closed, as most others have been, by a subversion of that liberty it was intended to establish."

In his farewell address to the new US after the second term, he advised them to "Uphold the Constitution, be vigilant in protecting the liberty of all, guard the nation's independence, and above all . .  maintain the civic and moral character necessary for self-government."

French hero

America's fight to separate itself from Britain did not take place in the dark. The world was watching. The founders knew they would be.

Writers of the Declaration of Independence addressed this in the very first sentence: "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they [we Americans] should declare the causes which impel them [us] to the separation."

A young, well-connected noble in France was indeed watching. The Marquis de Lafayette was just 19 years old when he left his country and his family to go to America, hoping to help us win our cause. That he did.

Come to the Light

Faith in God is not irrational, though some have claimed that. There is strong evidence to support belief in God, and I bring that to you sometimes. Atheists have their points to make as well. But neither view is actually proved.  

A big part of your own decision to believe - or not - goes way beyond evidence and proof, though. Do you want there to be a God? Some decidedly don't. You can choose cynicism. You can choose to say Beauty and Goodness and Truth and Meaning are just illusions. Is that what you want?

The great Dr. John Lennox clarifies the two belief options:

from X post

Morning 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Sure, ugliness can be found in today's world, whether it's created by people or naturally occurring. Dirty streets full of trash and cardboard shelters, or the charred landscape of a wildfire, both are undesirable and no one would call them beautiful.

But beauty is all around us too. A daffodil (like yesterday's picture) is beautiful, and so are the green of the trees and the blue sky that surround the garden, making the overall picture. As human beings, we do our part to try to create order and beauty around us in lots of ways.

Materialists may say beauty is just a point of view, not real. But our love for it is deep in our hearts as human beings. It's beyond material and more than the sum of its parts. It's transcendent.

"Morning Has Broken" is beautiful. It likens a fresh, early morning to God's work of Creation on Earth in the beginning. We all sense the beauty. We were made to. 

from "The Transcendental Treasury of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness"

Morning

A couple nights ago, we had rain where we live. Early the next day I walked through my gardens. "Morning had broken," flowers and leaves were sparkling in the sunlight. 

Whenever I see the "sweetness of the wet garden," it reminds me of a very old song as sung in the 1970's by Cat Stevens:

"Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning, born of the one light Eden saw play. Praise with elation, praise every morning, God's recreation of the new day."

(cont'd tomorrow)

Lasting things

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

President of Hillsdale, Dr. Larry Arnn, had a few remarks to share at the Celebration. He asks whether such a celebration is appropriate today . . because we are different than the people of 250 years ago.

Most of us don't heat our homes by burning wood and none of us wear powdered wigs. Dr. Arnn drives a cybertruck to work, it talks to him, and it could keep him constantly in touch with social media (he won't let it😉).

But, he says, the Declaration of Independence is still relevant to us because it refers to some lasting things that don't change no matter how long ago they were said:

All men are created equal - they are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights - and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Dr. Arnn goes on to say, "Hillsdale College exists that we may learn in a shifting world to grasp and follow the laws of nature and of nature’s God [the wording in the Declaration]. In that effort, we find and we deserve our freedom."

Hillsdale's 250th

This is the year America celebrates its 250th anniversary which is officially on July 4. As Yale professor Akhil Amar says, we need to know our nation's stories. So, we're observing the anniversary all year long with stories and celebrations.  

Hillsdale College started early, back in April, with their All-American Hometown Celebration, complete with displays, speeches, music--and the "Freedom Truck."

Six of these Freedom Trucks are making their way around the country. Go here to see if you can find one near you.

Unmanned 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

But despite their efficacy in many types of missions, we still need human pilots. Why?  Maverick's words in the movie show that humans go beyond textbook ability:

"He holds up a thick book that describes the operation of the fighter aircraft and says he assumes his students know the contents of the book. Then he tosses the book into the trash and says, “so does your enemy.”

"Maverick is right. Humans have the ability to respond effectively to unexpected contingencies not written in a book. AI can only respond to what it has been programmed to respond to. This is why autonomous AI will never replace commanders on the field of battle."

Creative human intelligence goes beyond what narrow AI can do. 

from Mind Matters

Unmanned

You probably saw the 2022 movie "Top Gun: Maverick." Here's the trailer, in case the years have dulled your memory of its entertainment value. Great as that was, this technology expert says that the movie's action is already outdated.

Its theme is a dangerous aviation mission requiring singular, dazzling flying skill. The question is, do we today need manned aircraft to accomplish that kind of mission? The answer is, No. Unmanned military drones can do the job.

Consider their abilities. They are unaffected by high G forces, which can cause a human pilot to black out if high enough. AI does not black out. Drones can also carry a map stored in its computer, thus not needing any GPS signals. 

Better than any of these advantages is the fact that no pilot has to risk his or her life on this mission.

from Mind Matters

(cont'd tomorrow)

Helion 2026

Lots of startup companies don't make it. Their creators are inspired by what they think is a great idea, but turning that idea into a successful business is like driving down a road that's mined with explosives: so many problems to overcome.

Helion Energy's great idea was to build a business that provides power using nuclear fusion. Researchers have been trying to find a way to do that for decades, so far without success. But it's progressed enough that Helion (photo) believes they can get it done--and they have convinced people with money that they can get it done.

Just a year and a half ago, the company was valued at about $5 billion. Now investment in Helion has tripled to over $15 billion. That's a lot of money being bet on optimism. Helion even has a legal contract to supply power to Microsoft by 2028. Many experts in the field think that goal is far too optimistic.

Fusion-sourced power would be a dream come true for the world because of its benefits. The sooner the better. Some business will be the first to make it happen.

from Scientific American, which details the difficulty of producing fusion power

Declaration

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Yes, that document formally approved on July 4 and eventually signed by 56 delegates representing the colonies was the famous Declaration of Independence.

It begins by saying, in effect, that the world deserves an explanation of why they wanted to separate themselves from Britain. Then comes a long list of the offenses of King George III, including his failure to apply to the colonists the rights that were guaranteed to Britons. 

Most famous of the Declaration's words are these: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by God with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. To secure these rights, Governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

It's the foundational principle behind the creating of the United States of America. It's entirely true, even if many citizens today don't agree that God Almighty is the source of these values.

Along with the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the original Declaration of Independence is displayed in the rotunda of the National Archives Museum in Washington D.C.

Over the years, this blog has given some attention to the history-making Declaration. Find those posts here.

USA at 250 - 2

Follow up to this post and part of a series by The Free Press (image)

It was tough decision for all thirteen colonies to defy Britain, at that time the most powerful country in the world. Even though British offenses had multiplied for decades, they were not united around independence easily or suddenly.

Military clashes started in spring of 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence. By May of 1776, the Continental Congress approved a statement written by John Adams which called for "total suppression" of the authority of the British king, a strong statement but not official independence.

In June of 1776, a Virginia delegate, Richard Henry Lee, forced the issue by proposing a resolution to Congress: "That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown . . ." (Sound familiar?) That's pretty clear, but not all of them were there yet.

So they debated the heavy decision and delayed it until July 1. Meanwhile, a committee of five (including Thomas Jefferson) put together an official statement, which actually passed Congress on July 2.

from The Free Press

(cont'd tomorrow)

HVAC at 23

Must everyone go to college after high school? It's becoming more and more clear that the answer is "No." You probably already know about famous examples of success without a degree, like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.

A young 23-year-old woman went into HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) instead of college and she sounds pretty happy about it. It's far from an office job. She's a service technician and her work is different every day. 

Trade school lasted only nine months at a cost of only $15,000--so much easier than paying tens of thousands of dollars yearly at a university. She recommends networking as a way to "get a foot in the door" toward practical experience.

This 18-year-old is a pipe fitter apprentice. He believes he's on track to make six figures in about 5 years. 

It may be best for young people to defy the prestige of college or university. There's opportunity in the trades. Celebrity Mike Rowe has been beating this drum for years.

from MSN

Regretted majors

Now that they have their degrees, are this year's college graduates happy that they spent so much effort and money on them? The answer is mixed. Many think they majored in the wrong subjects, and many more are anxious about finding work.

Almost half (46.3%) of those in political science areas wish they had chosen differently. Right behind them in second place (39.2%) on the most-regretted list is a major in "communication, media studies, or public relations."

Finding a job is as stressful as it's ever been, with more competition and fewer entry-level opportunities (AI may be responsible for this). Grads are submitting more applications and receiving fewer offers than just a year ago. 

Nursing leads the way in nearly every positive metric, including highest median pay ($70k). About a third of nursing grads have their job secured before graduation.

Job tips for students still in college: 

"Working during college more than doubles grads' odds of landing a job."
"Internships and apprenticeships are some of the clearest on-ramps into the workforce."

from Zip Recruiter

• 
  

Class pres

So far, we've had a published professor and a movie star speaking on commencement stage. With hope that you can tolerate another graduation speech, I now give you a student. 

Ty Ruddy was senior class president when he spoke at Hillsdale's (photo) commencement this month. President of the college, Larry Arnn, posted the speech on X. Ty acknowledged that learning is a lifelong project which doesn't stop with college.

Here are some quotes:

"Some of us were presumptuous and arrogant when we came on campus. I know I was. I cringe at some of the conversations I found myself tangled up in."

"As much as Hillsdale has been an education in the classics, it has been an education in humility."

"It doesn't have to be philosophy and politics all the time. It is ok to stand at your fence and talk with your neighbors about the tomatoes." (quoting a professor) 

"Remember what it was like as freshmen, confident for all the wrong reasons. We were just padawans to Dr. Arnn's Yoda."