Classical ed 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

When children are young in this system, much information is absorbed because they take to it so well. In the next stage, they learn logic, how to analyze opinions and evaluate values based on their information. Finally, at the high school level, they form opinions and make reasonable arguments for them.

Standardized tests demonstrate that these students know their subjects. They perform in the upper 13% on the ACT, and the upper 17% of the nation's students on the SAT. But even better, they learn how to think deeply and how to learn. They develop respect for other people, including those who have opposing beliefs and values.

As she says, if all our citizens had such an education, we as a people would: really know our own history so as to avoid past mistakes, make our decisions on the basis of reason and knowledge rather than emotion only, and resist deceit and manipulation.

Colombia to Mars

Like the Starbuck family from Cuba, Diana Trujillo from Colombia sought opportunity by coming to the United States of America. She made her move at the tender age of 17. 

Not even able to speak English, she managed to get and hold a job as a maid, eventually putting herself through community college. Undoubtedly, it was difficult. But, as she says, "nothing that's worth it is easy." 

She studied aerospace engineering at the university, applied to NASA academy, and was hired by NASA. Today she is Mission Lead for the Mars Curiosity Rover.

Her virtues got her there: resilience, courage, determination, willingness to work hard--all of these enabled her drive to pursue her dream. She didn't choose an easy path. She needed everything she had.

US poverty? 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

America does not ignore the poor who can't afford housing, food, medical care, etc. A huge 51% of our annual federal spending goes to entitlements. But those benefits are not counted in the poverty statistics you saw yesterday for some reason.

That's the first important point of yesterday's video: the actual percentage of people in the US who lack basic needs is about 3%, not 10-18%. (That means 23 million to 60 million fewer people in the US live that way.) Though their earned income is under the poverty point, government payments lift their lifestyle out of poverty.

We don't want millions of our fellow citizens to lack the necessities, so we're happy to help. That's the motivation behind the American "safety net." 

Unfortunately, there's an unintended consequence of the welfare system, explained very well in yesterday's video. A significant number of people content themselves with dependence rather than using their lives productively. Surprisingly, that includes about 7 million men of working age. Not good for America--devastating for those men.

Ranchers

Drought has fallen on Nebraska ranchers, a serious threat to property and to incomes. Wildfires naturally followed drought and destroyed thousands of acres of hay recently, spelling disaster for cattle.

Winds of 70 mph blowing across the flat terrain resulted in a record-breaking 827,000 acres burned this month.

"One rancher related that they were able to save some cattle by herding them into a field that had a pivot irrigation sprinkler system that they turned on. The water kept the cattle drenched and safe as the fire swept past." A consolation for this rancher, but just a partial one. They still have to be fed somehow, and the range is burned up.

Organizations like Nebraska Cattlemen Disaster Relief Fund will help. But quicker relief may come from neighbors who informally organize to help their neighbors:

from KSJD, Farm News and Views

Becoming US 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Part of Hector's admiration for America, he says, is because he studied the historical record and compared outcomes among nations:

• no nation made a more dramatic internal break with slavery
• no country did more to secure the oceans and underwrite the prosperity of former enemies and allies alike
• our Constitution uniquely inspires "universal dignity"

He loves the First Amendment (image): "It assumes that human beings will disagree deeply--and refuses to grant the state authority to referee truth." What an important insight: governments consist of flawed people, the only kind there is. People can only be free where they are not forced to speak the government's "truth," where they can speak their consciences.

"To become an American citizen is not to inherit perfection. It is to inherit responsibility--to participate in a fragile, magnificent experiment that only survives if enough people remember why it exists, and what it asks of them. *

"America is not great because it is easy. It is great because it trusts its people with freedom [per Pres. John Kennedy] and demands that they be worthy of it. I can only hope to be."

* For more on this responsibility, read If You Can Keep It by Eric Metaxas

 from Substack

"Woke" shock

American politics have shifted toward traditional American values and away from "wokeness." But our institutions haven't all changed. This is the story of a woman (photo) who went back to school in middle age after her divorce and was shocked to find a perverse ideology solidly embedded.

Somehow, she didn't notice it years ago when academia lurched far to the left. She was busy living her life and raising her kids.  You probably noticed, though, having read stories like this, this, this, this, this. 

The Counseling Master's program at the University of Tennessee confused and frustrated her until she recognized that it was founded on an "identity-based, oppressor/oppressed worldview. . . " The twisted values they taught were not her values.

"I learned it meant that if I weren't constantly aware of and apologizing for my whiteness and general lack of LGBTQ proclivities, as far as the faculty was concerned, I would be a danger to my clients." She quit the program.

from Substack

Give Thanks

 It's Thanksgiving week! Let's observe this good holiday and give thanks for our blessings! . . despite Christmas music at the mall 😏

Thankfulness in 1621

President Lincoln started a recurrent, scheduled Thanksgiving holiday in America. But that wasn't the first time Americans observed a day of giving thanks to God.

You probably know that the ship Mayflower brought colonists to the coast of North America in November (November!) of 1620, and that about half of them died that first winter (I'd guess the rest were very, very uncomfortable).  

But the next summer was productive, and the remaining 40 pilgrims plus 90 Indians enjoyed a three-day autumn feast together.  Here's one of the first-person accounts of that feast, taken from a letter: 

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. . . [A]mongst our recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us . . their greatest king Massasoit, with some 90 men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted . . . [B]y the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."  (from The Book of Thanksgiving by Paul Dickson)

Doubts?

If you have doubts about your Christian faith, don't be ashamed of that. Doubts are good questions that you don't know the answers to yet. 

Greg Koukl has made a career out of finding answers. He doesn't like to use  "cookie-cutter" methods when talking to people, but rather to be flexible and adapt to each person.

His interview below (about 15:45 and following) advises us to:

• ask what the alternative to Christianity is
• ask what different worldview answers all your questions
• ask what different religion explains reality 

Yes, it's good to believe strongly, to get to the point where you're strong in your faith. But the way forward is not to repress or stuff or ignore every doubt. 

You want to know what's true. God put that desire within you and you're not wrong to pay attention to it. So start looking for answers. That leads to stronger faith.

Go to his website and put your question in the search bar. 

Motivated dad

Bad news? We see plenty of it. It's encouraging to see a good report occasionally. 

Here's a story of disciplined self-sacrifice on the part of a legal immigrant dad for his family. He didn't go for what's easy, but for what's worth it. 

There's a lot of goodness in this story, including the men in the Bible Study.

As a Christian, the good things you do will tend to show others the goodness of God (Matthew 5:16).

Clarity re: LA

"Civil disobedience" has an honorable reputation as the expression of a sincere conscience.

It could describe the action of Rosa Parks, for instance, who defied a particular unjust local law . .  without violating other laws. Unfortunately, the term is often used today to describe a protest against certain laws while using lawless violence and looting. 

That's different. That's not civil disobedience. To violate the law against destroying your neighbor's property is not justified or legitimate. The Los Angeles rioting supposedly to protest immigration law was in no way civil, and in many cases not even the sincere expression of conscience.

$4/hour to CEO

Lowe's CEO and Chairman, Marvin Ellison, has quite a story. His experience should be an inspiration to everybody.

As a $4/hour part-time employee when he began working at Target, an entry level job, he drew attention to himself by taking tough assignments that no one else wanted. He learned how to make himself valuable to his employer and rose through the ranks to the position of Director.

Results - not prestigious education - got him to the executive level at Lowe's. 

His advice: be a problem solver, think through your path to success, and take every opportunity to educate yourself.

Golf #1

What is it like to reach the absolute top in your chosen field? Scottie Scheffler is there, rated the best golfer in the world.  

“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about, because I've literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport."

But it lasts just a few minutes. "You win it, you celebrate, get to hug my family, my sister's there, it's such an amazing moment. Then it's like, OK, what are we going to eat for dinner? Life goes on.”

"I love the challenge. I love being able to play this game for a living. It's one of the greatest joys of my life, but does it fill the deepest wants and desires of my heart? Absolutely not.”

He loves his golf career. But it's third priority after faith and family. There's a lot of love in this man's life.

from Golf Week

Brain on AI - 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Those teachers saw it happening. It makes sense. Now we know it's happening and even have an early name for it: cognitive debt – the decline in brain function manifesting in “diminished critical inquiry, increased vulnerability to manipulation,” and “decreased creativity.”

What happens when a significant number of people "farm out their own thinking to machines?"

This could be another deep divide between groups of people, just when we really need to unite in virtue and elevated purpose. It could wind up that one group will think through issues and make decisions; the other will follow whatever looks easy (image), happy to leave the thinking to others and to AI. 

 

No one will be forced into one group or the other. Every person will choose . . while they're young and in school. Will they choose the hard work of learning and understanding and skill-building? Some won't. Some will choose to let AI do it. 

 from "Your Brain on ChatGPT" 

Brain on AI

Yup, many students and employees choose to let AI do their work. You can see the obvious temptation.

A study has been done on the results of this trend. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) compared three groups writing an essay: one group of participants using their own brains, one using a search engine, one using AI to do it. 

Comparisons were made of brain activity with predictable results: "the cohort using AI showed large comparative decreases in neural brainwave activity, linguistic and thought development, and overall learning skills."

Historian and professor Niall Ferguson says: "the shortcuts that ChatGPT offers are a disaster for your neural development! You'll just be dumber."

from The Stream

(cont'd tomorrow)

"Join or Die"

As Dr. Aram said in yesterday's video, "Join or Die" (image) was a political cartoon (the first?) created by Ben Franklin in 1754. Originally meant for the time of the French and Indian War, it went "viral" during the time of the Revolutionary War.

Its meaning is clear: if the American colonies would not unite, then they would all die. Only by uniting could they hope to survive.

Many years later in 1944, Judge Learned Hand would speak on "The Spirit of Liberty." He says we must be united by a spirit of liberty living in the hearts of the American people. Laws alone won't keep us free.

We don't seek unbridled liberty to do everything we want, but rather the liberty to seek what's true and good both for ourselves and for each other. As an example: free speech for me and free speech for thee as well.

It's still true. All of us Americans need to unite on this common value, not just seek to win. 

Hopeful AI 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

So this author says AI will soon be smarter than us humans. That is still debated among the experts--but if true, then he's right that we will certainly have to lean on and develop the best parts of our human nature. 

Smartness has never been the only good thing about humans. It's good to know information and understand it, but as people created in the image of God, there's more.

• Having true friends and being one, having genuine relationships with other people, will never really be replaced by AI (though it can be faked).
• Creative thinking will never be replaced by AI, creative in the sense of creating new organizations, businesses, families, ideas (though some white-collar jobs will be replaced).
• Taking responsibility to build your own character virtues will never be replaced. Your experience of life will still be directly affected by your honesty, generosity, discipline, compassion, etc.

Materialists who believe nothing exists but physical reality may have to re-think their assumptions. Transcendent qualities like love and honor arise from outside the material world. 

These things arise from the immaterial spirit of a person (see Friday's post).

 

from The Free Press

Hopeful AI 1

So many experts in technology sound alarm bells about the danger of artificial intelligence (AI) to the future of humanity. Without a doubt, there are dangerous possibilities.

Other opinions, though, are out there. Naturally, CEO's of companies leading the way in AI are optimistic and enthusiastic. That would include Sam Altman and Larry Ellison. 

Altman's OpenAI has a vision for a beneficial role of AI in our future. They see AI elevating all humanity, functioning for our benefit. An AI user and an AI developer say, "This technology can usher in an age of flourishing the likes of which we have never seen."

 

But they also tell us to prepare for some disorientation as well, because "AI will change what it is to be human." They are certain that AI will exceed human intelligence by 2030 . . a mere five years away. So that means: we won't have intelligence supremacy anymore.

What should we do to prepare? More of what we are best at doing. We have value way beyond mere intelligence (see tomorrow's post).

 from The Free Press

(My image is Grok-generated)

(cont'd tomorrow)

New media 4

Follow up to post, post, post

Legacy ("old") media has lost the trust of many Americans, demonstrated by declining subscribers and declining influence. Some are trying to face that fact, to "right the ship," and to regain trust. Surging in the gap is "new media," including podcasts and X and independent videos/reports. 

For example, there were hundreds of authentic videos (like yesterday's) published on X of real conditions last fall after Hurricane Helene created chaos in western North Carolina.  They challenged some misleading legacy media reports in newspapers and on TV.

We learned not to trust "old" media's version of reality. Now there's an alternative that seems more trustworthy. As Konstantin Kisin says, "what could go wrong?"

Hopefully, new media will prove more reliable. But it will still be produced by flawed human beings, like the "old."

Mountain home 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Bat Cave NC and Chimney Rock NC, where Amish volunteers from Pennsylvania are working, are in Hickory Nut Gorge. The flooded river scoured out landscape and buildings resulting from  Hurricane Helene last fall. 

One young man says (yesterday's video), "It fills my heart with joy watching people get their life back again." 

Someone commented: "Absolutely incredible. While career politicians hold press conferences and fundraisers, the Amish are out here swinging hammers, rebuilding a town brick by brick, no spotlight, no selfies, just service. God bless the Amish, the backbone of real America, showing us what it means to love thy neighbor."

Drone footage clearly shows the scar:

Mountain home

Hurricane Helene is long gone from the headlines, but flood victims in North Carolina are still struggling to return to their homes and the normal life they lived before Helene.

From their own home hundreds of miles away, two thousand Amish volunteered to come and work to restore homes and businesses: