The World of Grandpa Don  

Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works -- Martin Luther	What's New In the world of Grandpa Don	Week Ending  Friday 22 May 2009
Go to the Current Event for  .. Archive Or to learn more of Grandpa Don and his remarkable family ...  Covenant House, a very worthy cause. The GUEST BOOK
	In the Electronic Spotlight The Love of My Life A new poem The Lady of My Life And another poem   The Pen of Grandpa Don Packard Family Mysteries My Father Wrote ...  A Thought ... "Generosity is giving more than you can,  and pride is taking less than you need."   The Prayer Corner  Visit the On-Line Chapel  www.stjulie.org Post your prayer requests there. Before I presume to pray ...  for my offenses against God and everyone else, I ask pardon.  We Pray ... Lord, Thank you for the accomplishments of the new graduates. Guide them as they assume new responsibilities. Help them to know that they can always depend on their families. Help them to know that You will always be with them. The Order of St. Isidore of Seville   Knight Grand Officer  Chev. Donald J Plefka, KGOStI, OMStL At-Large Priory Commander Order of  Merit III Bono Vince Malum -- Overcome Evil with Good Use the Internet Responsibly

Time is moving too fast for me. Some retirees complain that they don't have anything to do and they are bored. I don't have time to be bored. I do have time for involuntary naps. I guess that since they are involuntary, I don't have a choice. I had one the other day during which I had a dream that I was sleeping. Does that count as a double nap? And, in that dream, when I woke from the nap I was completely disoriented and had no idea what day it was or what I was supposed to be doing. When I woke up, I was disoriented, didn't know what day it was, the time of day, or what I was supposed to be doing. I didn't know where the dream stopped and where real life resumed. This is the second time real life and my dreams were intertwined recently. In any case, ... time moves on and does so like a rocket. There are times when I start the new issue of this page on the Friday afternoon of the publishing of the previous page or at least on Saturday. But this is Monday ... late Monday afternoon ... and I am just getting started. I don't know what happened to Saturday so we will skip that.

I logged on to the NASA web site twice over the weekend and watched and listened to the astronauts repairing the Hubbell telescope. OK, it's like watching grass grow but fascinating none the less. Everything is deliberate and slow. At the same time they are orbiting the earth at an incredible speed. It is amazing what the ingenuity of man can accomplish. Also of interest is the obvious planning that went into scripting every move and even more so the degree of cooperation necessary between the people doing the work, maneuvering the robot arm and even extending to the people in the control room on earth. Everything is checked and double checked and then recorded.

It occurred to me that too many of us have the "I want to do it myself" attitude. We are too proud or egotistic to think that we have to be told how to do anything and woe be it to anyone who would dare to monitor our actions. We believe ourselves to be self sufficient. I was that way for much of my life. Fr Artur told a story during his homely Sunday, the story that has been circulating on the internet in various forms. A group of people sitting around a large table with a array of delicious food in the center. They all had 4' long forks fastened to their arms so they could reach the food but it was impossible to get the end of the fork to their mouths. They were starving ... all of them. It was Hell.  But in Heaven, there was the same situation but the people were well fed, and having a great time. They, like those in Hell, could not feed themselves but  ... they were feeding each other.

Self sufficiency is an ego driven illusion. It may seem to be the way to go but in the long run it does not work. No one of us has the strength, ability and knowledge to do everything. When we insist on "looking out for ourselves" we reach a point of failure or as a minimum, doing a second rate job. However, when we reach out to help others and, in turn, accept the help of other, everybody wins. We complement each other's abilities and strengths. A better job is done and energy is conserved.

There is, at the present time, an email circulating lauding a 4th grade teacher for her open letter criticizing our president after his European trip. I am afraid I have to take issue with some of the things she said. Firstly, in her opening paragraph she says, "You are responsible to the citizens of the United States" and goes on to expand on that in the second paragraph. Indeed, that is true but she says that "You are not responsible to the peoples of any other country on earth." Well, maybe not responsible, but he, and we, can not ignore them or treat them as inferiors. The previous administration has tried that and it has gotten us deeper in trouble. Our president does have the responsibility to work with all other nations for the improvement of conditions for everyone on earth. And maybe if we want to claim to be a Christian country, more of us should go to church and, more importantly, act like Christians should. (What was God's reaction to Cain's question, "Am I my brother's keeper?") This lady is nothing but arrogant in  holding up the Marshal Plan and telling the Europeans to bow down and be grateful. She is offended by respect and politeness shown to a leader of opposing views. Doesn't she know that hostility and disrespect foster counterattack?  No, she prefers us to be arrogant. But wait, didn't she say we weren't arrogant? And then this 4th grade teacher continues on with name calling (is that adult?) and calling for solutions to problems for which the majority of Americans elected the current administration to handle for us. She obviously does not understand the representative form of government.  Yes, Theodore Roosevelt (R) advised us to carry a big stick, but he also said to speak softly. We can be respectful of those with whom we disagree and we can follow their customs when we visit and in doing so, we have a better chance of them listening to our point of view. Who among us will listen to one who assaults us?  For my part, I will wait until the next Federal election and send my vote as either a protest or an affirmation based on the results of the administration's efforts. In the mean time, I will hope for the best and let them do their job. I will also be humble enough to realize that they have the assignment to represent us and are beyond a doubt better informed than the average citizen in their task. In all fairness, if you have not seen the letter in question it can be read at "Letter to the President". Please don't forward it. As an American and a Christian I am ashamed of it. We can agree to disagree but let's be agreeable about it and ... respectful.

Going back to the letter writer's objection to our president's statement about the US not being a Christian nation I would remind her: "The United States became one of the first countries in the world to enact freedom of religion by way of a separation of church and state. Modeling the provisions concerning religion within the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, the framers of the United States Constitution rejected any religious test for office, and the First Amendment specifically denied the central government any power to enact any law respecting either an establishment of religion, or prohibiting its free exercise". (We flounder a bit on that last part.) A nation who's founders had a strong belief in God ... yes, ... but where in any of our documents do we find mention of Christ or the Trinity? No ... just God, the One Creator God.  The one who is called God or Yahweh, or Allah depending on your heritage and language ... all  the same One Creator God. And at the same time they refused to exclude the beliefs of other religions. The fact that our population is predominantly Christian does not make us a Christian Nation. If every citizen except one was Christian, our beloved constitution protects that one from being forced to adapt the majority faith. It would be great if we were a Christian nation but that is up to us as individual members of our Christian churches, first to stop squabbling amongst ourselves and form a united group that could convince others, by our love and charity to join us, recognizing that Christianity is the best way and therefore the only way to salvation. Of course there is the immorality, dishonesty and greed of many of us that belies the claim to Christianity but that is still another matter.  

I also cringe when we throw up to the Europeans "what we did for them" and how they should be grateful to us. A Christian or any other right-minded person does for others because it is the right thing to do and he does it without any strings attached. To do something expecting someone to be beholden to you is not charity or kindness, it is bribery or coercion. Rather, we help others in the hope that they will join the circle of giving and do something for others as well. Besides, our fighting a war in France was not done for the French or others, it was done to them, fighting on their soil to stop an aggressor from overrunning them and preventing the possibility of fighting a war on our soil at a latter time. It was not an entirely selfless act. They owe us nothing! It is arrogance to expect them to be grateful and we should well apologize.

I realize that I am going against the grain on some, or all, of these issues but keep in mind that it is just my opinion. I am not defending our president and I disagree with his views on many issues, but I am defending what I see as the truth and the moral and ethically correct way of conducting ourselves. I just feel that we should be "Christian" in the way we deal with others and not just claim the title. It also behooves us to really know what being a follower of Christ means before we spout off and send open letters. There ... now I feel better and relinquish my perch on the soap box. .