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THE NEW YEAR l99O
This is NEW YEARS EVE. I have seen a lot of them
This one is exciting and dangerous but not dull. I am glad
to be here. It is a time of promise and a time of
foreboding. Let me tell you about my present thinking.
For countless generations people have lived in groups. Mostly
self contained. To survive, groups had to develop plans
which is the basis of what we call culture. Through culture,
mankind could escape the tyranny of instinct. A baby turtle
survives on its own. Most don't.
People are group mammals.. They breast-fed their
young. They taught them. The group protected them and
through example passed on some of the acquired knowledge of
the group.
The development of language and the teaching of hand
skills gave our ancestors a unique advantage. The motor
area of the human brain has highly developed areas for speeh
and hand movements. Other creatures do not have this.
Our ancestors depended on hand skills. I believe people
sang and talked more. Even as a child, people sang and
talked more. Their eyes were not glued on T.V. or the
highway. Today, all of us may have some brain damage from
the sheer volume of noise. So many people appear hard of h
hearing. Is this related? I don't know.
The late Sir. Julian Huxley claimed that people have
not changed much in the last twenty thousand years. It is
the cultures that evolved. A good culture is one that
protects the environment on which they depend for survival.
It is not based on brutality.
If one belongs to a creative cultural group, it can give
the individual a feeling of some control of his own destiny.
not just a number on a computer. Or looked upon as the
buying public or the labor force. It may give them
courage to fight for causes like conservation. He or she
can do so as part of their group.
My mind is bombarded by television. Pretty young
women tell me about the latest calamities. Various interest
groups bombard me. Most of it sounds like propaganda.
They seldom offer solutions except spend more money
Offering solutions might create enemies..
I will make some suggestions. I expect mixed
reactions. I have lived a long time and want to share my
deepest thoughts with you.
Conservation has been the big thing in my life. To a
great extent it is losing battle but it is the right one.
I continually grieve about the destruction of the farms and
forests. The pollution of life in the lakes , streams and
oceans etc.
What about things today. The television was full of
football and various experts talking about the past and the
future.
One set of experts told us that our national survival
depended on the young becoming smart with technology and
experts in using computers. The reality is that we need
more dependable people on the assembly lines. More food fit
to eat. More young people who have developed good hand
movements and are physically and mentally able to be capable
production workers. They can advance from there
according to their ability and motivation.
Most of what we call menial work is survival work.
Too many young just fool around during the learning period.
Patents are advised to send their children to college so
that they will not have to work with their hands.
I call this the slave owner attitude.
Recently Toyota had to recall several thousands of its
new luxury cars. The plans were perfect. The production
workers were sloppy.
AIDs is an overwhelming fact of life today. It is
called an epidemic. Many experts consider it is brought on
by destructive life styles of various kinds. This appears
reasonable. It is only recently that we could see viruses
They were called filterable viruses because they could pass
through a special porcelain filter and still reproduce
disease.
At the time of Jesus, Rome was a den of iniquity with a
high death rate. Julius Caesar had killed a million people
in Gaul and sold a million into slavery. He became very
rich.
Many years ago bought a book containing essays by HORACE
the great Roman essayist. T he second essay was entitled
the IMPORTANCE OF MODERATION , ESPECIALLY IN ADULTERY. I
suspect that he was afraid of AIDs. Jesus and Paul the
Apostle told their followers. Do not waste your time and
energy fighting the Roman Bureaucrats. Just be better
people and better citizens. And the Christians became just
that. They became healthier, happier and more successful,
besides avoiding AIDs.
