{As of 2.9.2021 @ 4:12 PM, I’m adding this section in braces to inform you that this page was originally published during August 20th of 2017; below, you’ll be reading from the 2017 version of me 😉 }
Beginning Remarks
Howdy, y’all!
(Since my Mom was born and raised a Texan, I–Californian that I am–hope I can make use of such excellent greeting terminology.)
Better still: how do you do?
(Just between you and me, I have a very soft spot reserved within my heart for the phrase “Don’t Mess with Texas”. How come? Not necessarily because of the anti-litter ad campaign circumstances of the phrase’s origin [although we really should strive to be better stewards of this planet we’re blessed to live in and on], and not necessarily because of Texas state pride [although I think state pride is good and awesome as long as it’s not treading on the dangerously dreadful ground of ego-centric vanity], but because of the story behind the word ‘Texas’ [if you weren’t aware it had one]. To begin with, our word ‘Texas’ was borrowed from the Spanish term ‘Tejas’. In turn, this word ‘Tejas’ had roots in the Caddo tribal term ‘taysha’, which–according to the Online Etymology Dictionary entry for ‘Texas’–meant “friends, allies”. And so, I like to understand the phrase “Don’t Mess with Texas” by removing any possible ambiguity by using the term ‘Texas’ while improving clarity through drawing upon the more intended meaning of ‘Friendship’– so that it reads “Don’t Mess with Friendship”. It even seems like something Mr. Fred Rogers would have said. Who can object to an awesome phrase like that?)
Truly, I hope all’s going well with you!
Crucial Personal Motivations for Starting this Blog
- As much as is humanly possible, to combat and overcome my tendencies toward certain aspects of maladaptive perfectionism (e.g. my failures and mistakes are like ghosts which never seem to stop showing up to haunt me), dyscalculia (e.g. comprehension of numeric concepts and understanding ‘common sense’ ideas/practices relating to dealing with the passing of time are quite tricky for me), and autism (e.g. I have a form of difficulty in auditory processing wherein I am naturally disposed to process most [but not all] information very literally most [but not 100% perfectly all] of the time). Put together, these three factors greatly affect my daily life– from engaging with school assignments and performance in just about any job to social skills. Basically, I figure that if I can get myself to publish–hopefully–good content here on a frequent basis, I can be more psychologically prepared to do well in school, in work, in socializing, and even in play!
- Building on the previous point, I must here proclaim my conviction that the psychological activity of improving in communication skills over time via practice (painful though it quite likely will be and gradual as it will be for sure) will also improve the inner-workings of my mind.
- Building on both previous points, I must confess: I sincerely love to think, and I understand thinking to be the awe-filled reflection upon all that which is good, true, and beautiful. It being the nature of thoughts to multiply, it becomes very difficult–if not altogether impossible–to keep them all permanently locked tightly within the confines of one’s brain and memory. Yet, there is more to my point here than the human need for sharing thoughts– which is, I suspect, a side-effect of the human need for companionship and community. The thrust of my point here is the importance of the very content of thought itself. Just as it is easier for a mathematics tutor either to correct numerical problem-solving errors or to notice numerical problem-solving prowess if the information within a student’s mind is written out with clarity, so it would seem easier for others either to spot errors or strengths in my thought processes if information within my mind is written out with as much clarity as I can manage. The way I see it: where I have flaws, it is my duty to listen to your critique and improve myself; where I have strengths, it is my duty to share them with you for the greater glory of the Holy Mystery I often call God and for the better edification of all my existential neighbors in this colossally cool cosmos.
What To Expect– From This Blog and From Me
Just as many early Disney animated films used to have a short animated story preparing the audience for themes more-or-less expounded upon within each of those given films, so I have thought it fitting to prepare you–my readers–for what will follow by representing this early-on short interchange between the fictionally fantastic crime-solving duo of Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Mr. John Watson.
Sherlock Holmes seemed delighted at the idea of sharing his rooms with me.
“I have my eye on a suite in Baker Street,” he said, “which would suit us down to the ground. You don’t mind the smell of strong tobacco, I hope?”
“I always smoke ‘ship’s’ myself,” I answered.
“That’s good enough. I generally have chemicals about, and occasionally do experiments. Would that annoy you?”
“By no means.”
“Let me see– what are my other shortcomings? I get in the dumps at times, and don’t open my mouth for days on end. You must not think I am sulky when I do that. Just let me alone, and I’ll soon be right. What have you to confess now? It’s just as well for two fellows to know the worst of one another before they begin to live together.”
I laughed at this cross-examination.
“I keep a bull pup,” I said, ” and I object to rows because my nerves are shaken, and I get up at all sorts of ungodly hours, and I am extremely lazy. I have another set of vices when I’m well, but those are the principle ones at present.”
“Do you include violin playing in your category of rows?” he asked, anxiously.
“It depends on the player,” I answered. “A well played violin is a treat for the gods–a badly played one–”
“Oh, that’s all right,” he cried, with a merry laugh. “I think we may consider the thing as settled– that is, if the rooms are agreeable to you.”
— A delightful conversation between Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Mr. John Watson, as recorded toward the conclusion of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s first chapter within “A Study of Scarlet”
Ladies and gentlemen; boys and girls: that is one of my favorite scenes concerning this dynamic duo preceding that of Batman & Robin. I think it is a superb illustration of the virtues in recognizing and claiming responsibility for one’s own shortcomings– of what it means to be honest. Though it seems reasonable to expect one’s character will improve bit by bit as time passes, it also seems reasonable to suspect that striving to be honest about one’s issues is all the same a good start to self-improvement. Still, a worthwhile aspect of the project would appear to be to balance out one’s shortcomings with one’s strengths.
Though I have tendencies toward being the bad sort of perfectionist, I assure you that–no matter the length or depth of each installment (some posts might be quite spur of the moment and most likely short, whereas some others might be longer because they would feature more depth due to increased time spent reflecting upon certain ideas or issues)–I will strive to make every post on this website count toward God’s glory and toward your edification.
Though I have tendencies toward being dyscalculic, I will do my very best to post good content in a timely manner whenever life permits me to do so– and, moreover, to do so on a regular basis TBD, I suspect, will be quite good for me. As well, I will endeavor to become ever more concise where I would otherwise give ever more into being verbose. In the hope that my articles will provide much fodder for thought, fun discussions, and irenic or calm debates (please, as much as is possible, let there be no heated polemic verbal exchanges!), please know that I will take great joy in reading each comment-contribution whenever I make time to do so.
Though I have tendencies toward the literal-thinking aspect of autism, I will do my best to better my ability to think and communicate figuratively. Further, where I have difficulties every now and then with understanding what’s called “common sense”, I shall strive ever more to pick up on what I haven’t known. Despite any tendencies I have to think “in a box” with regard to grammar, I will make it a high priority of mine to keep every nook and cranny of this blog as interesting as I can manage– in essence, I promise I shall do my utmost to think “outside the box” with regard to ‘big-telescopic picture’ genres and ‘small-microscopic picture’ presentations of content.
Tour of the Website
Everyone ready for a quick yet awesome field trip through this blog? Fantastic!
Without further adieu, let’s get a start on this venture of splendor! Lol– I couldn’t resist that rhyming opportunity there. Anywho…
First Stop: The Blog Title– “Deo Patriae Litteris”
I anticipate two possible and excellent questions– namely, “what does it mean?” and “why choose that title?”
To answer the first question: as is delightfully reported by the Presbyterian Scotch College in Melbourne, this Latin phrase is one of solemn and joyful dedication. As presented on their website, the beautiful phrase reads as follows:
To (the glory of) God,
for (the good of one’s) country,
and for (the advancement of) learning.
In other places on the Internet, such as this other article about the aforementioned Scotch College, the Latin phrase is translated more simply as follows:
For God, For Country, For Learning
To answer the second question: I have thought of two reasons (i.e. concerning language and continuous improvement), and the last reason has three parts to it.
First: even though I have no idea how effective a Latin title will be in attracting more readers, it has been my suspicion that using some phrase from some ancient language for a blog title–not only would be cool to do, but–would be a good way to help the blog stand out. I had long been on the look out for Greek and Latin quotes that spoke strongly to my core (it helped having studied a little of each language in high school), and I found several such quotes, but this one Latin quote seemed to have the best possible-blog-title ring to it.
Second: even though utter perfection all of the time in every conceivable way is not possible for humanity to achieve, it does seem alternatively rather reasonable for us, with great unshakeable hope, to strive ever boldly onwards to the goal of continual improvement–first, concerning our very selves and, by extension, concerning our surrounding neighbors in society.
- Drawing a little more on my blog title “Deo Patriae Litteris”, I would like to suggest that there are three major ways in which I hope and pray I can be working on improving myself and in which I may perhaps be able to help you, my readers. My first point concerns the term “Deo”: while I do not here mean to go into a lengthy treatise analyzing past views of God, commenting on current trends of viewing God, or wondering how we might work toward a better future of viewing God, I propose again to all that perhaps the very best way we can begin to improve our world is through continually re-viewing whether our internal focus is rooted in a desire to improve the union between our minds, emotions, and spirits– that is, our psychological, religious, and spiritual functions. Now, I would like to take advantage of this moment to acknowledge that this sort of claim is in no way, shape, or form, original to me– it is, rather, a notion held fervently by our ancient ancestors and yet ever newly re-discovered and re-communicated by our present neighbors in life.
- That having been said, my second point concerns “Patriae”: while I am concerned with the cosmos’ continual improvement in well-being, I realize that the positive progress for which I yearn to help must begin on some smaller scale. Allow me to provide a quick illustration for what I’m trying to say. Suppose that negative regress, characterized by ego-centeredness (resulting, for instance, in what I might call ‘freezing cold’ hatred, ‘luke-warm’ apathy, or ‘scorching’ conditional love), is like an ‘implosion’ or ‘contraction’. Suppose also that positive progress, characterized by selflessly unconditional luscious love (resulting in a metaphorical temperature that is ‘just right’– warm enough, as a comforting and inviting sacred fire would be during the eternal Christmas celebration within God’s metaphysical house, to morally refine one like the purified gold; chilly enough, as a tropic breeze of mercy near the ocean of grace, or as spiritual snow falling from the cloudy sky of God’s transcendent splendor, to stimulate endless ethical excitement), is like an ‘explosion’ or ‘expansion’. Now, in current scientific discussions of philosophers directing their attention to observation of nature (even though I recognize there are numerous schools of thought pertaining to what I’m about to reference, as well as many unique ways of expressing the same central point amongst proponents of what I’m about to reference), I find it especially intriguing how much dialogue is directed these days to meditate on the ‘expansion’ of the cosmos– whether we live in but one uni-verse or within a multi-verse. Sure, there are things in nature and human technology that implode– such as what sometimes happens with volcanoes and frequently happens with houses as they’re being demolished (although some things don’t even require an outside force to help them implode). But, come to think of it, don’t most things in nature and human technology have a tendency to grow, erupt, expand, and explode? Isn’t it more rare to see a thing shrink, fold in on itself, contract, and implode? Moreover, if you will, please take a moment to recall the oft-quoted line from President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address: “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” The latter suggestion deals with an ‘outward movement’ of an individual for the betterment of one’s environment (this would align with the idea of ‘explosion’ or ‘expansion’ that I was discussing earlier), whereas the former warning addresses one’s inordinate desires for the external force of society to come to one’s own aid (this would align with the aforementioned idea of ‘implosion’ or ‘contraction’). So, what if improving the political climate of just about anywhere works like most of human morality and most of nature? What if the path to a better future of positive progress is to be found in the establishment of an environment where an increasing amount of people care ever less about ‘imploding’ with ego-centrism and care ever more about ‘exploding’ with authentic love, charity, and an enduring will to edify? Wouldn’t that be cool beyond words? Therefore, I would like to invite you on a journey with me to continually re-view what the external result or legacy of our lives might be– if we find ourselves tending toward ‘implosions’ of self-centeredness, let’s quit that so we can become more joyful human beings through ‘explosions’ of honest care for the well-being of our neighbors in life.
- My third point concerns the term “Litteris”: while I cannot here go into detail about the history of the thought to which I shall momentarily refer, I mention it because I find it very curious how many times throughout history this thought has popped up in various ways through various people– and even though it’s not necessarily true that everything universally thought is good, it often seems to be the case that a thing is most likely true if it’s repeatedly thought by many folks over a long period of time. What’s this thought I find so interesting? That a change of actions needs a change in thoughts. Alternatively, that thoughts affect actions. In a more condensed phrase: principles/ideas matter. If this is true: one’s relation to my second point (about politics and legacy) requires that one’s relation to the first point (about psychology and self-awareness) is in good shape, and one’s relation to the first point requires that one’s relation to this third point (about principles and ideas) be in prime condition. In other words: seeking out and resting upon good ideas/principles is the process that needs to start first, searching for good psychology/self-awareness comes sometime after that, and, striving to leave a good legacy–I suspect– naturally follows the previous points. How do we learn about principles/ideas? Early on, most of that education comes from those who take care of us as children. Later on, we can learn how to learn through other mediums– such as televised productions, plays, music recordings, concerts, radio programs, field trips, and the written word in its many forms. On the last medium, it has become rather fascinating in recent history how much reading is being done on relatively new electronic devices more than, say, relatively old physical editions of books or newspapers. In places of learning, too, it has become fascinating in recent history how much attention has been shifted toward relatively new textbooks (commenting on literary works of antiquity, or commenting on comments of literary works from the ancients, etc) and away from the relatively old books or practices that have been foundational to the structuring of Western and Eastern civilizations. Now, if I have qualms with relatively new technology or textbooks– they are so few and far between that I have not seen fit to pay much of my attention to them. Also, I’m not here to say that the past was overflowing with ‘glory days’– there, after all, perhaps were more ‘gory days’ than any of us current folk would like to reflect upon. In the “Tale of Two Cities” by Mr. Charles Dickens, he had written: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…” Isn’t that the story of both the past and present? Don’t both share in the best and worst of times? Can we not learn richly from both, if we choose to do so? But, back to the point I had been making: I would like to make another proposition. Just as it seems true to say with humility that the present isn’t necessarily “all that” good as we’d like it to be, so it seems healthy to say with interested awe that the past wasn’t “all that” bad as we sometimes might think. To this proposition, I would like to add the following proposition: although there are a multitude of mediums through which we can learn to better ourselves, books can often be one of the most effective methods– and the relatively older books can give us much needed fresh-to-us insights on life, much as we might imagine agriculture to rejoice when a time of drought is shoved away by the impending arrival of sweet rain. Lastly, to these propositions, insofar as anyone who thinks even one thought about wisdom and the Sacred is a philosopher and theologian, I would like to invite you on a journey with me to become better psychological scouts of those ideas/principles which are lovely as well as of the Contemplative Love from which they proceed with humble pride.
Second Stop: The Very First Blog Photograph– Why The One About the Astronaut In Space?
*As of 11.17.18 AD, that photo has been replaced by another which has more to do with the topic of the post to which it’s attached.*
Well, for one, many men and women affiliated with the Boy and Girl Scouts organizations have shown adventurous courage in exploring space as well as remarkable perseverance in preparing to do so.
As well, it illustrates quite well the central point of just about every major theme in this blog so far: in the earnest hope to improve the state of ourselves and our society, and searching diligently the depths, heights, breadths, and lengths of truth, goodness, and beauty, we are like astronauts. We endeavor to leave the ‘earth’ of familiar preconceptions and comfort zone prejudices. The farther we go from ‘earth’, the more we realize that ‘home’ isn’t in any particular familiar tangible place– but rather is invisibly soul-stirring anywhere. We also grow more and more in awe of the incalculable gap between largeness and smallness within which we humans–as Mr. Blaise Pascal said somewhere in his “Pensees”–humbly exist as intermediaries. Last but not least, we endeavor to penetrate through the darkness of our intellectual limits to hopefully understand at least the gist of Transcendently Bright Wisdom– at the same time, though, we learn that it’s ok to get down in the dumps about being intellectual ‘pilgrims’ with all our doubts and uncertainty. We learn that it’s even possible to find both excitement in philosophizing and restful calm in not attaining to, not becoming, and even not being Perfect Wisdom. We have no need to construct a Tower of Babel to strive to be the God we’re not (that would, I suspect, directly dishonor the Divine and indirectly demean humans, as if humans couldn’t be good and awesome as homo-religiosus); we have already been given the blessing of a Power of Revel(ation) in which we can participate together in a joyous holy party of becoming the best humans we can be. As we might imagine non-human beings as rejoicing in being according to their purpose, so is there not good enough reason for us humans to delight in being according to our purpose?
Third Stop: The Blog Categories– What’s Up, Doc?
Ok, I admit it– I am a big fan of word-play and amazingly addicting alliteration 🙂
Just as I won’t put limits on the exact length and depth of posts per category, so I won’t go and say that the number of categories is static– they may decrease or increase as I see fit with the passing of time. And what if you would like to see me address issues other than are given in the existing categories? Or if you have questions or comments for me and for the good of the cause?
Following are quick explanations for each blog category, and I save the answer to those questions for my last blog category explanation:
- The “Pentagon”: Just thought of that spur of the moment as of 10.28.17 at 10:21pm– because, as Mr. Matt Smith’s awesome incarnation of Doctor Who was fond of saying “bowties are cool” (as well, huge thanks to everyone throughout time at the BBC involved in Doctor Who splendor!), I think the Pentagon is cool. {While I’m at it, I’d also like to thank Mr. David Tennant–you sir, are my ultimate of my Doctor favorites–and Mr. Peter Capaldi for their excellent portrayals of this superb role. Back to my point, though…righto…} This 5-fold section consists of the easiest-to-explain items: Home, About Your Author, Vision for This Blog (the one you’re reading now), Resources (I envision this to be a growing list of Internet-accessible links to articles, books, groups or other helpful items), and a page where you can Contact me if you desire to do so. After these, the real meaty categories of this website begin–at present, there are 16 of them.
- Category #1 (Religion Rocket): in which I intend to explore topics in Comparative Religion [texts, stories, doctrines, rhetoric, and ritual practices], Cultural Universals, and Homo-Religiosus in general.
- Category #2 (Theology Train): in which I intend to explore topics in theology in its Proper and Extended forms.
- Category #3 (Philosophy Plane): in which I intend to explore topics in philosophy pertaining to just about anything–#Ecclesiastes–‘under the sun’…or around the sun… 😂
- Category #4 (Bible Bus): in which I intend to explore topics in Biblical Studies via such disciplines as Lower Criticism [an example area of study is: philology] and Higher Criticism [example areas of inspection are: source/historical, form, redaction, rhetorical, narrative, oral-written tradition history, psychological, and linguistic]. And note: by reading and studying–two different disciplines–the Bible with a critical mindset, I don’t mean to advocate cynicism toward the Bible. Rather, I mean the pursuit of getting better at discerning the difference between what we may read into the Bible [a no-no called eisegesis] and what we should read from the Bible [a ‘totally yes!’ called exegesis].
- Category #5 (Book Boat): in which I intend to explore topics dealing with literature of all sorts, analysis and/or interpretations of what past authors meant if I think I might be able to help with that, and perhaps compose book reviews at some point.
- Category #6 (Music Matrix): in which I intend to explore topics dealing with music history, issues, or explaining principles about theory and technique for my music students/clients. I will also very likely include links to performance videos and such information as I continue in my love affair with music.
- Category #7 (Poesy Peak): in which I intend to explore topics in poetry, analysis of poetic works, and to share poetic imaginations of my own– which, in advance, I hope and pray will be edifying to you.
- Category #8 (Hymn & Huh!): in which I intend to explore topics addressing with seriousness the history, ‘wow-ness’, lyrics, and musical make-up of–#Ephesians 5:19-20–“psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs”.
- Category #9 (History Haven): in which I intend to explore topics dealing with the good and bad of our past, as well as how we might be able to learn from our mistakes as a human race and take some solace in remembering what we can do right.
- Category #10 (Education Escalator): in which I intend to explore topics dealing with past, present, and potential future education methods and issues.
- Category #11 (Ethics Elevator): in which I intend to explore topics pertaining to how we humans do and should treat each other as well as non-human beings.
- Category #12 (Politics Point): in which I intend to explore newly hot or past cooled-down topics about how we picture the purpose and function of global & local government and ourselves as citizens within those structures.
- Category #13 (Science Sprinter): in which I intend to explore topics concerning past and present issues in philosophy pertaining to observation of nature. Quite probably, I will also find myself every now and then addressing past and present issues concerning meta-physics.
- Category #14 (Entertainment Equinox): in which I intend to explore topics having to do with arts, crafts, sports, movies, and such. At some point, I hope to hone my currently minimal faculties of film critique– currently, my younger brother is the better of us at that.
- Category #15 (Confession Corner): in which I intend to explore topics about the value of honesty, how to be tactful in being honest, and to vent–like the Judeo-Christian Psalmists–the ups and downs of my emotions in this great drama we call life.
- Category #16 (Suggestion Box, a.k.a. The Part You’ve Been Waiting For!): although I would like to make it easy for you to comment on each post, this is the special place of the website in which I would like to invite you to ask me about topics to address, ideas to clarify, or anything good for the cause, and I would like to do my very best–God and time permitting–to reply to each question as best as I can when I can. Although I’ve seen a Suggestion Box very recently somewhere at San Marcos’ Palomar Community College, I’d first gotten the idea from the practice that used to be done at the now sadly defunct Escondido church of Christ– every Sunday near the end of each month, the fantastic preacher Mr. Tim Hale would address inquiries the congregants had written up on paper and placed within the Suggestion Box.
Now that I’ve shared all that, I’d like to close this tour of the blog by expressing the following points:
- Reflecting upon the aforementioned categories, you might be inclined to suspect there could be some overlap between contents in one category with relation to those within another category– and I’m inclined to think that, too. Let’s see how it’ll work, shall we? 😉
- FYI, my recently-devised methodology for formally presenting information looks something like this: {1} unpack terms/ideas/interpretations vs. status quo or ‘status ideal’ of things (i.e. introduce vocabulary, interpretations of terms, how a majority or minority might think about an idea as distinct from how either group size should think about an idea, or simply keeping in mind the idea that just because I say “apple” doesn’t mean you are thinking of the same sort of apple I am or have one physically present before you); {2} my thought process (i.e. where I explain how I have come to think is the best way to consider an issue, and e.g. wherever I find discrepancies between how my neighbors in life have thought or do think, I aim to try to see at least all major perspectives as best I can before moving on to formulating a conclusion); and {3} my tentative conclusions (i.e. I like to leave room for realizing I haven’t understood something as well as I could have & therefore must improve my position on an issue). Although I expect to have a number of serious but informal posts on issues shared via this website, whenever I do have something more formal to say I would like to use this model until I come across something better. From a religious lecture standpoint, one of my favorite heroes would be the presentation style of the Christ-ian ‘liberal/progressive’ Mr. Marcus J. Borg– I voice my respect for him even though, as some might be aware, my background is as a ‘conservative/traditional’ Christ-ian. *On a related note: some in addition to myself might take issue with normative usage of labels such as “liberal vs. conservative” and “traditional vs. progressive”, but I used them above as it gets my basic point across faster than going into a soliloquy on etymological and philological issues.*
- As this website is still under development, and as I am by no means a master at communicating, I beg your indulgence as improve this website and myself.
With that, my official tour for this blog has come to a close– thanks very much for your curiosity!
Ad majorem Dei gloriam (or, in English, ‘to the greater glory of God’!)
Deo Patriae Litteris 