(with apologies to Buzz Lightyear, Star Command, PIXAR, and
all the philosopher/mathematicians within the blog-o-sphere who’ve written so
much about the deep meaning of the phrase).
This morning I set out for what Mark Twain described as a
way to spoil a good walk. I was
considering the quiet of a course covered in the morning dew, the sun casting
long shadows as it began its climb to zenith, and naturally here in Florida the
humidity that turns your clothing into damp cloth in a matter of minutes.
A small sphere sitting quietly at rest, until a force,
other than gravity, acts on it, transferring energy and imparting motion. If all things are done in harmony that sphere
with its drag reducing dimples will take flight in a graceful arch, supported
by a top spin that will allow it to settle gently to earth hundreds of yards
from where it began, on a direct line from its origin and a desired point of
termination, some distance beyond.
Along the way, as I
travel from one resting spot to the next, and in between the activity points
where I attempt to impart just the right amount of energy to the sphere I
wonder about a lot of things.
How fragile life is, yet how often do we seek to destroy it
for human convenience? We have invented
a thousand different ways, and a hundred different reasons to destroy
life. If you’ve created a life and you
don’t want it? No problem. If someone has something you want and the
only way to get it is to destroy its owner?
Okay. If you think life is
painful and want to end it, there is help for that.
Then, of course, we have war, where mankind thoughtfully or
haphazardly inflicts grave damage to other parts of mankind to settle a
dispute.
But we still grieve for those who’ve made it past the
initial screening and are allowed to live, yet die for one of the multitude of reasons. Why is that?
Why are some lives considered more worth saving than others?
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