Wouldn't it be nice to be a good person? I run in to good people all the time. A salesman at a store who went out of his way to help my wife and me, a guy standing in front of me in line at Costco who let me go ahead, the guy who ran down my car to tell me my trunk was open...
I wonder if these peope are good people all the time. Do they constantly impress others with thier good deeds or do I only catch them at their best? Are they really a jerk 90% of the time like me?
I'd like to be a good person. I think the only thing worse than knowing you're a jerk is realizing when you've missed the opportunity to be something other than a jerk. I hate it when somebody tells me about something they've recently dealt with and I think to myself... If I had known I could have helped out with that.
Maybe that is the key... You have to be observant to be a good person. So maybe good people aren't really good people at all, they're just smart people. Maybe I'm not a jerk, I'm just clueless...
I like that better. I'm not a jerk, I'm just dumb.
To all those I have failed to help: I'm sorry... I don't hate you, I'm just not that bright.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
You can be offended when I'm talking to you...
A funny little story...
A few years ago I was traveling with a friend of mine for work. We had a layover between flights so we went to grab a bite to eat at one of the restaurants in the concourse. We were waiting in line when my friend asked me "How are we on time?" I responded that it was 5:30 and that we were on schedule.
A large balding man standing nearby became very nervous and asked the man next to him, "Is that really the time?" The man responded "no... It's 4:30." The man then turned to me and with a scolding tone informed me that I had frightened him because he thought he had missed his flight. He was very angry and stood waiting for me to say something. I had no idea how to respond so I just shrugged my shoulders and turned around.
Now that I think about it... My friend and I were traveling to a city in another time zone. We had a meeting in that time zone and our only concern was the time in our destination city. The fact that we happened to have stopped at an airport in another time zone didn't really matter to us. For our purposes the time was 5:30. I knew what my friend meant when he asked for the time and he knew what I meant when I answered. The fact that some fat guy with a comb over was listening in on my conversation and didn't have all the facts was not my problem. If he wanted to know the time he should ask me or buy a watch.
I see that the same thing seems to happen pretty frequently around me. Two people are carrying on a conversation when another interrupts them to inform them that something they have said is incorrect, offensive, or untrue. Who do these people think they are? Nobody is talking to you... Mind your own friggin' business!
There are people in the world who will interpret anything they hear in the most offensive manner possible and will always assume that the message has something to do with them... Guess what? If you overhear something and you chose to give that something a meaning that you dislike... That's your problem. I don't want to hear about it. Nobody is talking to you and if you want to run around looking for opportunities to be offended you can be miserable and bitter all by yourself.
Honestly... How narcissistic can you be? What made the fat man think we were limited to a discussion of time based on his frame of reference?
So here's my new theory... If I'm not talking to you, you don't get to automatically assume you know which time zone I'm in. If you don't like the message you received, you don't get to tell me that you don't like the message I sent. If you have failed to properly decode my message... That's your problem.
You can be offended when I'm talking to you...
A few years ago I was traveling with a friend of mine for work. We had a layover between flights so we went to grab a bite to eat at one of the restaurants in the concourse. We were waiting in line when my friend asked me "How are we on time?" I responded that it was 5:30 and that we were on schedule.
A large balding man standing nearby became very nervous and asked the man next to him, "Is that really the time?" The man responded "no... It's 4:30." The man then turned to me and with a scolding tone informed me that I had frightened him because he thought he had missed his flight. He was very angry and stood waiting for me to say something. I had no idea how to respond so I just shrugged my shoulders and turned around.
Now that I think about it... My friend and I were traveling to a city in another time zone. We had a meeting in that time zone and our only concern was the time in our destination city. The fact that we happened to have stopped at an airport in another time zone didn't really matter to us. For our purposes the time was 5:30. I knew what my friend meant when he asked for the time and he knew what I meant when I answered. The fact that some fat guy with a comb over was listening in on my conversation and didn't have all the facts was not my problem. If he wanted to know the time he should ask me or buy a watch.
I see that the same thing seems to happen pretty frequently around me. Two people are carrying on a conversation when another interrupts them to inform them that something they have said is incorrect, offensive, or untrue. Who do these people think they are? Nobody is talking to you... Mind your own friggin' business!
There are people in the world who will interpret anything they hear in the most offensive manner possible and will always assume that the message has something to do with them... Guess what? If you overhear something and you chose to give that something a meaning that you dislike... That's your problem. I don't want to hear about it. Nobody is talking to you and if you want to run around looking for opportunities to be offended you can be miserable and bitter all by yourself.
Honestly... How narcissistic can you be? What made the fat man think we were limited to a discussion of time based on his frame of reference?
So here's my new theory... If I'm not talking to you, you don't get to automatically assume you know which time zone I'm in. If you don't like the message you received, you don't get to tell me that you don't like the message I sent. If you have failed to properly decode my message... That's your problem.
You can be offended when I'm talking to you...
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Mindless Ramblings
I'd never seen anything quite as dark as the desert on a rainy night. As we drove deeper and deeper in to the San Rafael I could only imagine what lay beyond the glow of the headlights. It wasn't raining now, but it had been just a few hours before. The world was still dark and moonless with a blanket of clouds blocking any light that might have come from the night sky.
We weren't exactly sure where we were going. The trip had been hastily put together in a matter of hours with only the aid of a guide book and a general knowledge of the area. This was a new part of the Swell to both of us. We curiously leaned forward over the dash of the truck attempting to distinguish a skyline or some topographic feature. There was nothing. Cautiously we made our way down the trail using the guidebook with the odometer and what we could make out from the glare of headlights on the muddy track.
It was getting late when we arrived at what we believed to be the end of the road. We went back over the directions, "...from the cattle grate 7.2 miles take the right fork. At 8.6 miles pass an abandoned car..." and so on. We were there. We weren't exactly sure where "there" was, but we were tired and in the blackness as it began to rain again, any level spot was as good as the next.
There was a comfortable, almost cozy, feeling in the thick cover of darkness. Moving around and stowing things in the cramped bed of the truck with only the narrow beam of a flashlight, I couldn't help but feel like I was back in my parents basement making forts out of couch cushions and quilts over card tables. We made ourselves comfortable on 3" foam pads stuffed between the wheel wells and fell asleep to the sound of raindrops on the roof of the camper shell.
We had no plan or agenda for the morning. The sole purpose of the trip was to just get away and "get lost" for a day. We had done it. With no schedule to keep and no objective to gain, I allowed myself to sleep as late as the daylight would allow. I reluctantly pulled myself from beneath the weight of my sleeping bag and opened the tailgate and shell. My friend Troy, who obviously has not developed a talent or an appreciation for sleeping late, had already gotten up and taken the dog for a walk. I hadn't even noticed when he left. Still not awake I sat on the tailgate and stared at my feet as they swung slowly making small circles in the air. A cold breeze came from the North and swept across me like a wave. I was awake now; the wind cut through my cotton shirt like a cold shower washing away any of the lingering warmth from my bed. I put on my shoes, pulled a fleece over my head, and hopped down from the tailgate.
I made it about thirty steps from the truck before I became aware of my surroundings. The cover of darkness the night before had made the world feel small, as though there was nothing more to it than what could be seen from the cab of the truck. Now in the light of day I was overwhelmed by the enormity of the landscape. To the North from where we had come was a seemingly endless sea of rust colored sandstone waves rolling to the horizon. The road we had taken wandered in and out of view until it finally disappeared in the surf. To the East and West were 300’ sandstone walls striped red, orange, white, and black. To the South the high walls narrowed in to a thin crack of a canyon which gradually faded in to a dark maze.
I stepped over toward the remains of an old miner’s cabin, and stood there for a while watching spotlights of sunbeams through the clouds move across the landscape. For a brief moment one of the beams crossed our campsite and warmed me just enough to notice the cold breeze again. I shuddered slightly and stuffed my hands deeper in to my pockets. The slight wind swept away any trace of sound and any voices or calls from the dog were gone before they could disturb my morning. I don’t know of a time when I have ever felt so much privacy and isolation in such an enormous place. I knew Troy couldn’t be far, but since he had gone before I woke up I was left with a mysterious feeling of solitude. I would pause for a moment while looking around and find myself staring at nothing. A slight twitch back to reality would only set me staring again in another direction. Never in my life have I been so aware of my surroundings as I was at that moment.
It was one of those moments of clarity that are usually had only by prophets and scientists. A moment when thoughts are such complete and overwhelming realizations that you can't imagine ever not knowing what it is you have just discovered. I believe it is called an epiphany. It can only be described as sublime. I have no idea what it is that I realized at that moment or what, if anything, I learned. Maybe it was an understanding that all things are connected, an appreciation of God's creation, a deeper connection with mother earth, or a higher level of communication with the earth’s creator. I don't know, but I know I know it.
We weren't exactly sure where we were going. The trip had been hastily put together in a matter of hours with only the aid of a guide book and a general knowledge of the area. This was a new part of the Swell to both of us. We curiously leaned forward over the dash of the truck attempting to distinguish a skyline or some topographic feature. There was nothing. Cautiously we made our way down the trail using the guidebook with the odometer and what we could make out from the glare of headlights on the muddy track.
It was getting late when we arrived at what we believed to be the end of the road. We went back over the directions, "...from the cattle grate 7.2 miles take the right fork. At 8.6 miles pass an abandoned car..." and so on. We were there. We weren't exactly sure where "there" was, but we were tired and in the blackness as it began to rain again, any level spot was as good as the next.
There was a comfortable, almost cozy, feeling in the thick cover of darkness. Moving around and stowing things in the cramped bed of the truck with only the narrow beam of a flashlight, I couldn't help but feel like I was back in my parents basement making forts out of couch cushions and quilts over card tables. We made ourselves comfortable on 3" foam pads stuffed between the wheel wells and fell asleep to the sound of raindrops on the roof of the camper shell.
We had no plan or agenda for the morning. The sole purpose of the trip was to just get away and "get lost" for a day. We had done it. With no schedule to keep and no objective to gain, I allowed myself to sleep as late as the daylight would allow. I reluctantly pulled myself from beneath the weight of my sleeping bag and opened the tailgate and shell. My friend Troy, who obviously has not developed a talent or an appreciation for sleeping late, had already gotten up and taken the dog for a walk. I hadn't even noticed when he left. Still not awake I sat on the tailgate and stared at my feet as they swung slowly making small circles in the air. A cold breeze came from the North and swept across me like a wave. I was awake now; the wind cut through my cotton shirt like a cold shower washing away any of the lingering warmth from my bed. I put on my shoes, pulled a fleece over my head, and hopped down from the tailgate.
I made it about thirty steps from the truck before I became aware of my surroundings. The cover of darkness the night before had made the world feel small, as though there was nothing more to it than what could be seen from the cab of the truck. Now in the light of day I was overwhelmed by the enormity of the landscape. To the North from where we had come was a seemingly endless sea of rust colored sandstone waves rolling to the horizon. The road we had taken wandered in and out of view until it finally disappeared in the surf. To the East and West were 300’ sandstone walls striped red, orange, white, and black. To the South the high walls narrowed in to a thin crack of a canyon which gradually faded in to a dark maze.
I stepped over toward the remains of an old miner’s cabin, and stood there for a while watching spotlights of sunbeams through the clouds move across the landscape. For a brief moment one of the beams crossed our campsite and warmed me just enough to notice the cold breeze again. I shuddered slightly and stuffed my hands deeper in to my pockets. The slight wind swept away any trace of sound and any voices or calls from the dog were gone before they could disturb my morning. I don’t know of a time when I have ever felt so much privacy and isolation in such an enormous place. I knew Troy couldn’t be far, but since he had gone before I woke up I was left with a mysterious feeling of solitude. I would pause for a moment while looking around and find myself staring at nothing. A slight twitch back to reality would only set me staring again in another direction. Never in my life have I been so aware of my surroundings as I was at that moment.
It was one of those moments of clarity that are usually had only by prophets and scientists. A moment when thoughts are such complete and overwhelming realizations that you can't imagine ever not knowing what it is you have just discovered. I believe it is called an epiphany. It can only be described as sublime. I have no idea what it is that I realized at that moment or what, if anything, I learned. Maybe it was an understanding that all things are connected, an appreciation of God's creation, a deeper connection with mother earth, or a higher level of communication with the earth’s creator. I don't know, but I know I know it.
Let's NOT Promote Diversity...
As I walked down the hall today I passed a pair of classmates engaged in a spirited conversation. I didn't stop to listen in but I did hear the phrase "promote diversity" several times. I didn't think much of it since this is a common topic of conversation here in the law building. As I continued on to my class I passed another group of students who seemed to be having the exact same conversation. For a minute I thought all four students may have come from the same room and were all just finishing up a discussion that had begun in the last class.
But they weren't... They are from different classes (1L,2L,3L) and the only class or meetings just to let out were not likely to have dealt with promoting diversity.
I thought about it for a minute or two... I don't recall the last time I went a day without hearing the phrase "promote diversity." I have decided that I am sick of it.
I know that most people who "promote diversity" would say they aren't trying to promote differences. They always seem to say they are promoting community and cooperation. But are they really?
How does it make people feel to have someone constantly telling them that they need to be more diverse? It's like saying my school, community, or social group sucks because we're a few members short of a standard platoon. Are they saying that we need to import some superior group of individuals? Am I supposed to hang my head in shame because I have failed to recruit the right players for my team?
I think all these people who want to promote diversity are operating under the false idea that everybody wants to go into places where they are different and unique. Perhaps they think we hate comfort?
I'm sure there are plenty of schools across the country where Mormons are rare. I assume the promoters of diversity would love to pat themselves on the back for having a rich assortment of religious beliefs in their community. But what if I don't want to go there? Does that mean they're somehow flawed?
No... I like it here. I don't have anything against them or their schools. I don't feel they lack anything because they're short on married guys from Utah and I don't think they should cry themselves to sleep at night about it.
Did anyone ever stop to think that the apparent lack of diversity may have something to do with the fact that some "diverse" groups don't want to hang out with me? Do they think it makes me feel good to know that not everyone in the world wants to be my friend and neighbor?
How does this promote community? Now I feel like there is some other group out there that has something I don't. They're better than me. They're different from me. Those friggin' snobs! What makes them think they're so special? What have they got that I don't have?
How about we just let people go where they want to go? Quit trying to herd me off to some place I don't want to go. Leave me alone.
But they weren't... They are from different classes (1L,2L,3L) and the only class or meetings just to let out were not likely to have dealt with promoting diversity.
I thought about it for a minute or two... I don't recall the last time I went a day without hearing the phrase "promote diversity." I have decided that I am sick of it.
I know that most people who "promote diversity" would say they aren't trying to promote differences. They always seem to say they are promoting community and cooperation. But are they really?
How does it make people feel to have someone constantly telling them that they need to be more diverse? It's like saying my school, community, or social group sucks because we're a few members short of a standard platoon. Are they saying that we need to import some superior group of individuals? Am I supposed to hang my head in shame because I have failed to recruit the right players for my team?
I think all these people who want to promote diversity are operating under the false idea that everybody wants to go into places where they are different and unique. Perhaps they think we hate comfort?
I'm sure there are plenty of schools across the country where Mormons are rare. I assume the promoters of diversity would love to pat themselves on the back for having a rich assortment of religious beliefs in their community. But what if I don't want to go there? Does that mean they're somehow flawed?
No... I like it here. I don't have anything against them or their schools. I don't feel they lack anything because they're short on married guys from Utah and I don't think they should cry themselves to sleep at night about it.
Did anyone ever stop to think that the apparent lack of diversity may have something to do with the fact that some "diverse" groups don't want to hang out with me? Do they think it makes me feel good to know that not everyone in the world wants to be my friend and neighbor?
How does this promote community? Now I feel like there is some other group out there that has something I don't. They're better than me. They're different from me. Those friggin' snobs! What makes them think they're so special? What have they got that I don't have?
How about we just let people go where they want to go? Quit trying to herd me off to some place I don't want to go. Leave me alone.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Don't call it a belief and it's ok...
The other day I received an email from a student organization inviting me to a group activity. The group is a collection of students who share similar beliefs and values. The members of the group gather to discuss their shared values and frequently participate in activities with the goal of teaching others about their point of view. They often invite others to join their group and share in their beliefs. Sometimes there are politcal events that the members of this group feel are important and they gather to speak out in support of the values they hold dear.
But wait... I attend a state school. Can this group really use the school's rooms, chairs, and lights when they gather? You can't have a bunch of people sitting around using state facilities to promote their own idea of what is right and wrong. How dare they?
Come to think of it, this group likes to get together and discuss hot topics like marriage, abortion, and prayer in school. This simply will not do!
Wait! Everything is ok...
These believers will be just fine... There is no rule that says people can't gather together and use government facilities to promote the a common goal of spreading values and beliefs...
Or is there?
I guess it just depends on what the group believes. Where do their ideas about what is fundamentally right come from? Do they come from some internal moral compass? Or do they believe in a higer power?
For their sake I hope they can't come up with a source. I hope they can't name the place where their ideals, values, and goals come from.
Because once they do they will have crossed the line between belief and religion; and that's a bad thing.
As long as you don't give your belief system a name you can push your beliefs and values on anybody you want. Blame your values on God or Buddah or some magic plant and you're out the door.
What was the name of that group?
But wait... I attend a state school. Can this group really use the school's rooms, chairs, and lights when they gather? You can't have a bunch of people sitting around using state facilities to promote their own idea of what is right and wrong. How dare they?
Come to think of it, this group likes to get together and discuss hot topics like marriage, abortion, and prayer in school. This simply will not do!
Wait! Everything is ok...
These believers will be just fine... There is no rule that says people can't gather together and use government facilities to promote the a common goal of spreading values and beliefs...
Or is there?
I guess it just depends on what the group believes. Where do their ideas about what is fundamentally right come from? Do they come from some internal moral compass? Or do they believe in a higer power?
For their sake I hope they can't come up with a source. I hope they can't name the place where their ideals, values, and goals come from.
Because once they do they will have crossed the line between belief and religion; and that's a bad thing.
As long as you don't give your belief system a name you can push your beliefs and values on anybody you want. Blame your values on God or Buddah or some magic plant and you're out the door.
What was the name of that group?
The Supreme Court... Accident of history?
I love Con Law. There is nothing quite like sitting for the better part of an hour as a liberal professor steps even farther left to make attempt after attempt at poking his students in the eye with a stick. Sometimes I wonder if he's just trying to spark controversy or at least conversation. Other times I think he's just an angry old hippie who is disappointed that he never changed the world...
There is one argument he makes that really seems to rub students the wrong way. He likes to say that the current makeup of the Supreme Court is an "accident of history." I guess he thinks that the world would be a different place if some planetary alignment had influenced the cosmos in another way. Maybe it is his way of explaining why the world didn't listen to him and do things his way. Obviously he can't be wrong so only an accident could explain his failure to change the minds of the masses.
Anyway...
It might not be an "accident of history," but apparently it was an accident of Sandra Day O'Connor. In a recent article she said that her decision to step down was based on Rhenquist's decision to stay. She didn't feel like two retirements at once was a good thing. It kind of makes you wonder... If she had known Rhenquist was going to die would she have stepped down?
O'Connor was the "swing vote" in many hotly contested cases. She recognized her position and probably knew that two retirements under GWB would cause a political shift in the thinking of the Court.
So maybe it is an accident..?
There is one argument he makes that really seems to rub students the wrong way. He likes to say that the current makeup of the Supreme Court is an "accident of history." I guess he thinks that the world would be a different place if some planetary alignment had influenced the cosmos in another way. Maybe it is his way of explaining why the world didn't listen to him and do things his way. Obviously he can't be wrong so only an accident could explain his failure to change the minds of the masses.
Anyway...
It might not be an "accident of history," but apparently it was an accident of Sandra Day O'Connor. In a recent article she said that her decision to step down was based on Rhenquist's decision to stay. She didn't feel like two retirements at once was a good thing. It kind of makes you wonder... If she had known Rhenquist was going to die would she have stepped down?
O'Connor was the "swing vote" in many hotly contested cases. She recognized her position and probably knew that two retirements under GWB would cause a political shift in the thinking of the Court.
So maybe it is an accident..?
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