What Life Asks of Us and Objective Truth

A friend of mine linked to this editorial - "What Life Asks of Us" by David Brooks (NYT) - on Facebook. I'd recommend that you go read the article first. It'll help the discussion.

My friend made this comment:

Brooks explains the advantage of devotion to institutions (social functions) rather than personal happiness (psychic profits), e.g., "...a farmer’s relation to her land is not an individual choice that can be easily reversed when psychic losses exceed psychic profits. Her social function defines who she is..." I'm not sure what I think.

I replied with this comment:

I like the article. I think there is a balance to be found between the two ways of thinking. Sometimes the institutions need changes. But I think I agree that sometimes the basic foundations of those institutions should be left alone. I do agree that excessively individualistic thinking is one of the most destructive aspects of our culture right now.

Another friend from college responded with:

I'm not sure the article spoke to the balance Rebecca mentions as much as I'd like. I don't think there is any institutional practice that is beyond questioning. I think it is important to teach students to question the status quo. But it is also important to arm them with tools to help them discern things that should be changed from things that should not. One should always question, but with an open mind to the possibility that the way things are is best. The author seems to allude to a point that there are institutions that work so well or do so much good one should not question their practices, and I disagree.

To which I then replied:

I agree that education should provide the tools to question the status quo and then discern what should be changed and what should not. (I would also argue that the vast majority of modern educational institutions fail at this task gravely, but that is a different post.)

Then the question becomes how do we discern what is good and what is not? Is there some standard to use? What is that standard? Either social institutions are judged against a standard, or they aren't. If there is no standard, then the discernment is all subjective. It becomes on "me" or a selfish "us."

But if there is a standard, then maybe the standard is wrong and we should move the standard. The standard doesn't "feel right" to me, so it should change? It is too hard, so it should change? It's not "fun enough"? Where does that end? It ends the same way.

When you get down to it, either there is some kind of objective reality...objective truth, if you will, or there isn't.

If there isn't any sort of objective truth, then we can educate until we're blue in the face with little effect. If there is no objective reality, then we have nothing left other than self-centeredness. We will ultimately be most concerned about looking after our own interests, rather than the interests of others (the community). (Philippians 2:4) Everyone chooses their own moral code. Those that are loudest may get policy enacted to support them. Perhaps not.

Without that objective moral code in place throughout the social institutions and society as a whole, we ultimately decay into the situation we are in today. That code becomes so decayed that actions that would have once been nearly inconceivable become such common practice that a whole system collapses. In this case, the bankers and money managers became so concerned with their own interests, they forgot the larger role they played in society.

Does anyone else have comments or input on this subject?

So, How's Married Life?

Apparently this question is as ubiquitous after getting married as "What are your plans?" is when you near a school graduation. Our normal response is something along the line of a slight smile, a vague shrug, and "Oh, not too bad." or "It's good...pretty typical."

What we are really thinking when you ask this question goes something like this:

What does this question really mean? What do they want to know? Is there some topic I'm supposed to address? Something that is so blindingly different about being married that I want to talk about it with whoever I happen across? If I wasn't of the gushy-emotional type before the wedding, was that supposed to change after getting married? Somehow I don't think they are looking for a logical analysis of our first X weeks of married life. Maybe they want to know if we're considering murdering each other yet? What would they say if I said I was contemplating such an action? (I'm not...no worries...just an example...)

Okay, so we don't think all those things each and every time someone asks the question. But they do cross the mind at times. (And to be fair, I get a lot more of this question than Steven, probably because my work environment lends itself to that type of small talk more frequently.)

So, in case you were wondering: Married life is good. We are learning to live together, as everyone does. What else do you want to know?

Because if you want to know about our sex life, ask a direct question and who knows? We might give you a direct answer. Then again, we might not. (Sorry if I just scandalized anyone.)

Do you want to know if everything is unpacked and in its place? Ask. We'll happily tell you that if you think there is a remote chance of that, you are probably deranged and deluded.

Does Steven like your cooking? Well...he had enough chance to sample that before, and he still seems to be eating, so I'm not too concerned.

Is the snoring keeping you awake at night? Wait...one of us snores? What? It's not me!

Is he/she driving you nuts yet? Um...no more than usual?

When are you going to start having babies? Whoa there...let's not get ahead of ourselves!

Are you settling into a comfortable routine? Hmm...I think so. Still trying to figure out how to maximize the hot water in the mornings. I blame that on our finicky water heater though.

You seem to be blogging more. Are you ignoring Steven to while away the hours on the computer? Hmm...no, I don't think I'm ignoring him. I'm just not planning a wedding. Or trying to pack his stuff. Or getting ready for Christmas.

I am now out of any semi-relevant questions that you may come up with to ask that fit under the category of "How's Married Life?" Perhaps I've forgotten something, but you can save those for sometime when you have an actual conversation with one of us!

Snapshots

A number of people have asked for more details about the wedding, the honeymoon trip, etc. So this edition of Snapshots will give a little bit of that information.

~~~1~~~

The wedding went smoothly. Everything was beautiful, and more or less what we had in mind. The food at the reception was delicious, and you really missed out by not being there. Pictures will be available when they are available. We don't have them yet, but rest assured that we will share them when we have them. Um...yeah, we should be getting around to Thank You notes ASAP.

~~~2~~~

We went to Dallas, TX on our honeymoon. In general, the weather was nice, although it was cold (32) and drizzly on Monday. It was 85 and sunny by Friday. While in Dallas we went to: Dallas World Aquarium, Dealey Plaza, The Sixth Floor Museum, Dallas Museum of Art, Central Market, Dallas Arboretum, Fair Park, Dallas Heritage Village, and the Fort Worth Zoo. We also spent a couple hours in Grapevine, TX Saturday morning. We visited a glass-blowing studio and watched the artisans work for awhile. In retrospect, we would have spent less time in Dallas, more time in Fort Worth, and more time in some of the areas surrousding the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Maybe next time.

~~~3~~~

One of our favorite stops from the early part of the week was Central Market. Basically, it is a huge grocery store with a lot of gourmet ingredients. We tried hard not to go too crazy. We ended up with some fingerling potatoes, which we just finished eating tonight, some blue potato & chioggia beet "potato" chips, some tomatoes, two different types of pears, a McIntosh apple, and Kangaroo Paw Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Lemon Myrtle Oil. Since Lemon Myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) plants are virtually impossible to come by here in the U.S., I jumped at this as our "splurge" item for the trip. We just opened it tonight, and it was awesome. We used it as part of the dressing for a purple potato salad. Mmm...

~~~4~~~

So, we are back in Wichita and trying to get settled in. We finally got the living room mostly clean and set up last night. We bought another bookshelf to house the stereo and DVDs, whcih cleared up a lot of space on the floor. Unfortunately, there is virtually no space left in the second bedroom. I think it will be better after we get some more unpacking and organization done. We also have a few boxes/tubs of stuff that is going to Goodwill or otherwise disappearing. That will clear out space too.

~~~5~~~

Both Steven and I have been in the habit of cooking two or three dishes on the weekend, and then eating the "leftovers" for meals all week. This was more efficient since Steven had evening classes and homework, and I was either busy with work or driving over to his place in the evenings. Since both of those situations are now cleared up (Steven is done with classes, and I live in the same apartment as him), we are going to try cooking throughout the week. I have to say that it is a little bit different for me...both in having dishes to be done more often and in juggling having meal prep to do during the week. Not that it's bad...just different. Cooking meals during the week allows us to reduce the foods we eat that have lots of carbs and increase the amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables. At least that's the theory...we'll see how it works out.

~~~6~~~

This week I'm starting a new class at work. It's called the New Lawn-Owner Clinic. The first class is Thursday night. Hopefully there is a good group registered, although I don't mind having a smaller class for the guinea pig group. I'm also including some "hands-on" components that Master Gardeners are helping with. We'll see how all of that goes, too.

~~~7~~~
The other exciting thing from this weekend is that we bought a washer and dryer! In honor of MLK Day and Obama's inauguration, we decided to buy the "diversity" set. Our washer is black with chrome accents and the dryer is white. Unfortunately, the salesman wouldn't give us a discount on the black dryer just because it was black. Ah well. (In all honesty, the white washer was out of stock, and the black was the same price. So it made no difference to us what color it was.) We have the very first load of laundry in right now. Yes, I know the excitement will wear off sooner rather than later.

Web Safari

Yes, I know it's been ages since I've done one of these Web Safaris. I thought it was high time. (And the reality is that with the computer easily at hand in the apartment and more free time than I've had for a couple months, it is easy to record what articles I find interesting and post them.) Anyway, this "issue" of Web Safari includes some politics, some religion, and some random stuff. Since it's been awhile, let me give you my philosophy. These are articles that I found intriguing, interesting, or thought-provoking for some reason or another. This isn't to say I agree with every word written. You get the picture. Moving on.

Politics
Have you noticed that there's an inauguration coming up? I thought you might have. MSNBC started non-stop inauguration coverage this morning...(That's Saturday...) The inauguration is Tuesday. Seriously, folks. A little much, don't you think?

Fred Barnes at The Weekly Standard writes a good editorial about why exactly some of us regard Obama with timorousness.

A short parable and essay reflection about our out-going president.

A great Wall Street Journal opinion piece about Bush, who stayed the course even when the rest of us didn't.

Religion

"You yearn and hope for untold things, you strive. All of this is answered in Jesus of Nazareth. Let him in."

Two insightful Internet Monk posts:

Is This the Better World You Were Talking About? What do you think? Are we really better off for all the glut of information available at our fingertips?

The Liturgical Gangstas are taking a look at the role for children and youth ministries in the church. These guys come from a variety of church traditions, which makes their commentary intriguing.

Miscellaneous Grab Bag
The NYTimes lists the 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating. Hmm...yeah, I'm definitely not getting my full allotment of sardines. Nor do I plan to in the near future.

Another NYT article about immigrants turning to charter schools rather than regular public schools for their children's education.

A final NYT article. MIT is apparently doing away with the ginormous introductory lecture-style classes. Not necessarily a bad thing, in my opinion.

A vegetable garden at the White House? Hmm...I'm a fan...

A fun garden blog, and a good guide to shopping via seed catalog...

Last but not least...

For those of you looking to waste time on the Internet, here's a fun word association game. I beat the computer after 57 words by responding to "russia" with the word "samovar."

Weird Food and Me

I was intending to title this post something along the lines of indicating that I'm really a Southern girl at heart because I seem to like lots of traditional "Southern" foods, like black-eyed peas, grits, and sweet tea. Then I realized that my only experience with grits has been "instant grits" and I also like other strange foods, like pickled herring, braunschweiger, duck liver pate, and oysters. so I guess when you come right down to it, I just have a taste for weird foods. At which point this whole post just peters out, because I can't wax eloquent about Southern food.

Besides, fresh veggies are much tastier than nasty fried Southern cooking!

Cofftea? Teafee? What the...?

I like coffee. But I'm picky. You might even say that I'm a coffee snob. I don't drink just any old coffee (unless I'm truly desperate). Yes, you guessed it...I like expensive coffee/coffee beverages. (Read: Excellent quality medium-dark roast made well with 2 heaping tsp. sugar per 8 oz. or lattes.)

For that reason, I don't drink it frequently. Well, let's define some things here. What I mean is that my coffee/coffee beverage consumption usually runs about 1-3 cups each week, depending on schedule, what I'm doing, if I feel like drinking empty calories, and if I'm craving an espresso fix. I have no interest in developing a coffee dependency. I would rather keep it as a treat. Besides, I don't feel (as) bad about spending $3.50-$4.00 on one drink per week, if it's only ONCE per week, as opposed to more frequently. And I always get the smallest size (except in true coffee emergencies!). But enough justification of my coffee habits.

So as I was running a couple errands this morning, the coffee craving hit. Mmm....coffee.... I knew I wasn't that far from a Starbucks, so I thought, sure, I'll get something. (Yes, I frequent the evil Starbucks regime...unfortunately on the west side of town, I am lacking the good quality local coffee shops that we know and love on the east side.)

When I go to Starbucks or a similar establishment, I usually want some version of a latte...preferably with a flavor syrup for sweetening. But I want the espresso flavor, with nice creamy milk and the sugar kick. Now from early November through early January, coffee shops provide a delightful array of seasonal drinks involving peppermint, gingerbread, amaretto, eggnog, chocolate, and pumpkin flavors. It is the "happy" season of coffee drinks.

So when I pulled into the drive-thru, although I knew in the back of my head that the "happy" seasonal items were gone, I figured I could perhaps find something tasty and sweet. The first perusal of the menu board was rather a shock. The central part of the menu was filled with...TEA! BLEARGH. (Okay, not that tea is bad in and of itself, but when ou want coffee...not so much.) My brain was in shock.

"Welcome to Starbucks. What can I get for you today?" "Uhhh.....um, uh, well...I don't know."

Pure shock. I don't like new situations, and I usually eschew drive-thrus so that I can have time to stand and peruse my options without feeling rushed to make a decision. So my shocked system frantically searches for something familiar on the board. To the far right I find the frappucinos. Would have been nice last Friday in Dallas, but in chilly, windy, Wichita? Not so much. Finally I find the regular coffee and espresso drinks on the far right of the board. I have never SEEN such a stripped down menu from Starbucks. Something...anything...plain lattes are too strong...need flavor...no flavor options listed...not a mocha...espresso truffle? Yikes.

"Um...I guess I'll take a vanilla latte please."

"Would you like to spice that up today by trying one of our new TAZO tea lattes?"

What the...apparently I'm an obvious candidate for the hard sell. "Uh...well...I suppose I could..."

"The London Fog* latte is really quite good. I even like that one.."

Great...even the employees aren't sold on the menu change. "Um...sure, why not?" (Am I a sucker, or what?) Seriously? London fog? Argh. Nasty tea latte, here we come. Nothing like wanting a warm, creamy infusion of espresso and ending up with a nasty over-spiced tea latte with no espresso taste.

"That will be $3.13." Well...at least that's the least I've paid for any coffee beverage in ages. Not all bad, I guess.

"Here you go. Let it steep for a couple minutes." Huh?!? Ack. Whatever.

It doesn't smell awful. Hmm...

The cute little cardboard cupholder is orange and emblazoned with the Tazo Tea logo. Try our new full leaf tea lattes and tea infusions.

Full leaf tea?!? ARGH....I hate blatant marketing gimmicks. Seriously, I don't think you stuck whole leaves of Camellia sinensis in my drink. (Okay, I looked it up...I couldn't find anything telling me what "full leaf tea" is specifically, other than indicating that it is supposed to be a high quality loose leaf tea. Just to clarify for future reference: loose leaf does not equal tea bag.)

First sip...okay, it's not bad. It's much better than chai latte. But it's still not what I wanted. At least it's drinkable enough to finish. The spices aren't scorching my throat.

Next to last sip...what is this slithering around in my cup? Opening the lid...dang it! There's a tea bag! No wonder the drink was cheaper...they filled space with a tea bag! MROWR.

Starbucks, you have failed me. You have replaced your tasty espresso drinks with nasty "healthy" tea drinks. I will have to find alternate sources of tasty sustenance until you come to your senses.

From the Starbucks Gossip blog: London Fog Latte, an intriguing blend of black tea, citrusy bergamot, French lavender, vanilla and freshly steamed milk.