How We Live: A Challenging Article

Below is an excerpt from 'Stem Cells and Torture: What a society can and cannot afford to do when its survival is at stake,' by Gilbert Meilaender. It is a rather heady article, but worth the read if you wish to have some of your thoughts provoked. I am not saying I agree with everything he says, but this passage from his conclusion, as he draws upon the immeasurable C. S. Lewis, seems to ring true.


"We need to learn again that it is not within our power to make ourselves, our society, or those we love secure. How easily we forget that our society and its way of life are fragile and delicate flowers. They are always at risk.



On October 22, 1939, at the Church of St. Mary the -Virgin in Oxford, C.S. Lewis preached at evensong. To anxious undergraduates, many of whom would soon face death, and all of whom must have wondered what they were doing studying mathematics or metaphysics at a time when their nation was in mortal peril, Lewis said, 'If we had foolish unchristian hopes about human culture, they are now shattered. If we thought we were building up a heaven on earth, if we looked for something that would turn the present world from a place of pilgrimage into a permanent city satisfying the soul of man, we are disillusioned, and not a moment too soon.'



Life, and our shared way of life, are always fragile and insecure. That is not a crisis; it is human history. And during our share of that history it will always be true that how, rather than how long, we live should be our central concern."

If you want to read the entire article, go to http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/571vhyvx.asp?pg=1.

P.S.
Meilaender's conclusion reminds me of the conversation had between Gandalf and Frodo in the first 'Lord of the Rings' movie.
Frodo: "I wish none of this had happened." Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

My Problem with Blogging and Why I Need to Do it More

I enjoy reading blogs... this is not a confession, more just an admission of fact. When I read a good blog, I often find myself thinking, "hmm, I should really get online and write more." So, I make my way, via the electronic pathways of the Internet, over to my little corner of the blogging universe and I begin typing. But, before long, I find myself, growing dissatisfied with the words that are coming out on screen. I delete some, add some, rearrange some and still cannot shake the feeling that something is wrong. This is partially due to the fact that I am a perfectionist which really slows down the process, making the experience of writing a rather labourious process for me. But it is more than that, deeper than that, by the time I get a few paragraphs banged out, I begin to wonder if I even want what I am saying to be out there for everyone to read and scrutinize. It's not that I am afraid people will disagree with me or that I might upset some one, heck, I do not even know if anyone is reading what I write. Rather, I start to get the feeling in the back of my mind that I do not have the conviction to back up my words.

Yes, that is it, at the root, it is a question of personal conviction. I have many concerns and ideas floating about inside me, but many of these, dare I say most of these lack conviction. I may feel something passionately one day and want to write about it, but as my fingers punch the keys and my emotions begin to pour out, I often find that they lack conviction. In many cases they are simply knee jerk reactions to something that has come across my path in that moment. Other times I find that I may be convinced of a topic, issue, or cause, but I do not have the conviction to express myself as only to add to the already overwhelming cacophony present on the subject.

The simple solution I suppose would be not to blog. In fact, if you have happened upon this posting you are probably saying that very thing to me in in your head to me right now. However, I would like to write more, or rather, I would like to flesh out my convictions more, so as to be able to better express them, both in the written word, but also in conversation. I find that, in stark contrast to my lack of blogging, I have very little problem making my opinions known in casual conversation. But often times, upon speaking, I begin to get that same sense in the back of my mind, that perhaps I am not as convicted of my words as I should like.



So, I would like to find a middle ground, where I speak less and write more, where my words, both blogged and spoken, are rooted in personal conviction. I have a feeling that this will be easier said (blogged) then done, but it to this end that I