So, is life, as well as all that exists, due to chance?  An explosion of undetermined origin? If so, where did the raw materials come from that caused this combination of chemicals and minerals?  What triggered the explosion, the Big Bang?  Lots of questions with few, if any answers.  As I have stated many times, we all have freedom to choose to believe whatever we want to believe about……….. about anything.  If your opinion differs from mine, so be it.  Don’t get angry with me, or any one else who doesn’t share your opinion.  I certainly won’t be angry with you, or anyone who disagrees with me.  At the same time, don’t try to force your beliefs on me, or upon any one else.  Discussion is okay, but don’t lose control.  Allow each and every American the freedom to believe what he or she chooses to believe.  The documents upon which our nation was founded guarantee this freedom, and many more freedoms.

As for me, I believe a Creator exists.  I can’t accept the belief that all of life on this planet, as well as the existence of this planet and the solar system through which this planet travels is the result of happenstance.  Over the years, I have spent countless hours considering all of the possibilities regarding life.  My conclusion is that a Creator exists. I believe in a Creator, just as the Founding Fathers believed in a Creator.

With that established, whom or what is this Creator?  Several possibilities exist here.  Where is this Creator?  Is the Creator still alive?  Did the Creator, create this world, this solar system, and then move on to another hobby?  Is the Creator good or evil?  Is the Creator concerned about what was created?  Does the Creator have a personal interest in me?  Do any of the religions that man practices worship the True Creator?  Lots of questions, many choices.  How does one choose?

The functions of all that we know to exist are extremely complicated.  Through centuries of observation, study and research, scientists have discovered some of the secrets that make life possible.  Additionally, many scientists believe they have an understanding of what holds this solar system together.  Two key words here: discover and believe.  As an example, some of the scientific “Truths” I learned at Arkansas Tech in the early 1970’s regarding nutrition and athletic conditioning have been replaced by new scientific “Truths”.  Many similar examples exist.  Scientific fact is often replaced by scientific fact.  Scientific fact should be Absolute Truth.  If a fact is not Absolutely True, how can it be presented as a fact? Here’s an Absolute Truth for you.  Man has not been able to, and never will be able to, create.  Man invents.  Man discovers scientific laws.  Man discovers raw materials.  Man does not create from nothing.  The point being is that humans are capable of discovering the scientific laws governing this solar system, this planet, and life upon this planet and within this solar system and man is capable of devising different means of using these laws and pre-existing raw materials to benefit himself as well as all of mankind.  Man, however, can not create something from nothing.  Because man can only discover and invent, man can only believe he fully understands the solar system, the Earth, as well as life.  So, should man stop trying to understand life?  Absolutely not.  The study of all that we know to exist is exciting, challenging, and points to Absolute Truth.  Absolute Truth, remember is irrevocable fact.  Absolute Truth, was True yesterday, is True today, and will be True tomorrow.

I’m not demanding you accept my beliefs.  Maybe I’m wrong.  Maybe you’re right.  Maybe we’re both wrong.  This is what freedom is all about.  Each of us free to think.  To choose.  To believe what we choose to believe.  All that I ask you to do is think.  Could all that we know to exist have been the result of pure chance?  Is it possible that all we know to exist is the result of just an accident?  Remember, that as technology advances, science continues to make more discoveries involving life, previously unknown planets, solar systems, galaxies.  If you think about it, and you should, all of these discoveries can become overwhelming as well as stimulating.

I’m as skeptical as the next human.  It is difficult for me to accept anything that I have not seen with my own eyes, anything that I have not touched with my own hands, anything that I have not tasted, smelled, heard.  Because I am skeptical, I have difficulty accepting the fact that out there somewhere, some place, lives a Creator.  A Supreme Being.  Someone not only smarter than I, but eminently more powerful.  A Being to which I owe my allegiance because that Being can create, while I and my kind can only discover and invent.  A Being to which I owe my allegiance because without that Being, I would not, could not exist.  Conflict results due to my natural skepticism.  As a student of science, what do I accept?  As a lover of knowledge, what do I choose to believe?  Something deep inside of me whispers, “There is no Creator.  If a Creator exists, why have you not seen this Being, spoken with this Being, dined with this Being”?  Yet, a stronger, more authoritative Voice pleads with me to follow my own common sense.  Pleads with me to think.  “What about stem cells”, the stronger Voice asks?  “The water cycle”?  “Gravity”?  Should I trust my own common sense?  A common sense based upon knowledge that points to Absolute Truth.  Common sense based upon the knowledge of science.  Common sense that overcomes my five physical senses.  Life, Earth, our solar systems, the Milky Way, other galaxies.  Isn’t all of this too complicated, too wonderful to be an accident?

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”.

The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America

My last post ended with the statement that nothing that I say is intended to offend, and that I am not an easily offended person.  To quote myself, “If a person says, I’m sorry, I can’t accept your beliefs”, it’s not the same thing as saying, “If you believe that, then you’re stupid”.  The point being, if we disagree, let’s do so agreeably.  So, to be clear, I don’t feel that anyone who disagrees with me is stupid.  They just disagree with me.  That’s it, and nothing else.  That person just disagrees with me.  Or, I disagree with that person, however one would wish to view the matter.

Before considering Worldview Possibilities, allow me to provide some personal back- round.  I would be considered to be relatively well educated by many.  By others, not so much.  My education after high school consists of a BSE in Health and Physical Education/Secondary Education from Arkansas Tech University, 1974.  Additionally I have twenty-four masters level credit hours from Henderson State University.  Many, many of these hours are in science.  Yes, science.  Science, the Holy Grail of the Twenty-first Century.  Science as in STEM.  STEM, you know, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Science courses such as Biology, Vertebrate Zoology, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Kinesiology, Chemistry, Sports Motion Analysis, Human Development, and more.  I didn’t just go to school to learn how to play Hop Scotch and Dodge Ball as some critics of Physical Education would suggest.  I studied real science, and especially how science relates to the human body.  Additionally, I have never stopped reading or thinking.  The life long study of science has affected my worldview.  Personal knowledge in the sciences provides the mortar that binds my beliefs.  I believe what I believe about the universe and the life that inhabits this universe and beyond because of science.

“Where did it all come from”?  Most, if not all, adults have considered this question. Perhaps multiple times.  I am convinced of only two legitimate possibilities.  The two choices are that one, all we know to exist is either the result of pure chance, or two, the result of pure intent.  An accident of unknown origin, or the brainchild on an unseen superior.  Happenstance, or the intentional design of someone, something greater than man.  What is your choice?  Don’t accept my belief, or the belief or someone that you consider more knowledgeable than you.  It is your choice to decide.  Remember, THINK.  The decision involves your free will.  The gift of the freedom to choose.  As an American, use your gift of liberty wisely.

My personal worldview is based upon my personal scientific knowledge.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the most intelligent person that’s ever lived, nor am I the most knowledgeable.  I do know some stuff, however.  Some science stuff.  The science stuff provides the mortar, remember.

Let’s consider just one area of science.  Do you have knowledge of stem cells?  If you don’t, you should.  And don’t take someone’s word for what stem cells might be and what they might do, find out for yourself.  Do the research.  Books, articles, the internet, it’s out there.  Let’s consider only human stem cells.  You exist because of stem cells.  You remain alive because of stem cells.  The end of your life, unless your death is accidental or intentional, will be due to stem cells, or rather, the failure of your stem cells.

Does this sound complicated?  It should, because it is.  No scientist has a complete knowledge of stem cells.  Perhaps someday someone will, but not yet.  I’m going to keep this stem cell explanation simple for two reasons.  One reason is to insure understanding, the other is because I would never be considered a stem cell expert.  My stem cell knowledge is elementary compared to one who devoted a lifetime to stem cell research.  I have enough stem cell knowledge, however, to be amazed, fascinated, and compelled to share the knowledge with others.

So here goes.  Stem cells are cell factories.  Stem cells produce other cells.  Who cares?  You should, you’re made of cells.  Billions of cells.  Billions of many different kinds of cells.  Skin cells of different types.  Muscle cells of different types.  Bone cells.  Multiple categories of white blood cells .  Red blood cells .  Specialized cells that make up your brain, nerves, spinal column, heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys, on and on and on.  All different kinds of cells.  Cells have a life span, just as you do.  The life span of a cell is determined by the type of cell, injury, and disease.  Cells can die if attacked by disease, or cells can die if injured.  Most cells die of old age.  Old age for most cells is much shorter than the life of the person those cells have constructed.  Cells that die must be replaced, or the functions of the person the cells comprise will be compromised.  If certain functions of a human body fail, the end result is the death of that person.  Some cells have a life span of a few days, some a few months, others somewhere in between.  Stem cells replace our cells that die.  Millions of our skin cells die of natural causes daily and must be replaced.  A couple of cuts, scrapes, and a rash or two and the production of replacement cells must be increased.  During the growth spurts of childhood and adolescence stem cells work overtime.  Stem cells monitor and adjust production as needed.

Consider this.  There was a point in time that you didn’t exist. For example, I was born on March 12, 1952.  Nine months prior, give or take a few days, I didn’t exist.  Portions of what would become me existed inside both my mother and my father.  Without contributing the unnecessary physical details of human reproduction, my mother and my father each donated a single cell that would, approximately nine months later, result in my certificate of live birth.  Your existence in this world occurred in the same way.  So consider this.  Over a lifetime, men produce thousands of sperm cells, and women thousands of egg cells.  By themselves, these sperm and egg cells have no function.  In fact, if released into the atmosphere, these cells will quickly die.  Standing alone, neither sperm nor egg has any value.  However, if one sperm cell connects with one egg cell, the life of a new human being begins.  Because cells are too small to be seen with the naked eye, cells, including egg and sperm, must be viewed with magnification.  Most readers have viewed skin or blood cells with the aid of a microscope.  Sperm cells and egg cells are similarly small, and must be viewed with a microscope as well.  So if sperm or egg are viewed with the aid of a microscope, what would one see?  Not much.  A human egg cell is not a chamber containing a tiny human being.  A sperm cell is not a microscopic key waiting to unlock the door on an egg cell to release a human baby from captivity to allow that baby to grow within it’s mother’s uterus.  No, not at all.  There is no baby within the structure of a human sperm nor a human egg cell.  The most important substances inside a human egg cell or a human sperm cell are some incomplete strands of human genetic code referred to as DNA.  Neither sperm nor egg contains complete human genetic code.  The portions of genetic code missing from the egg cell is provided by the sperm cell and the portions of genetic code missing from the sperm is provided by the egg cell.  Ingenious system is it not?  Once our father’s sperm joined our mother’s egg, this now complete code determined everything about you, and about me.  The traits that you inherited from your father’s family were contained in the portions of DNA that contributed to your development by your father’s sperm cell.  The traits that you inherited from your mother’s family were contained in the portions of DNA that contributed to your development by your mothers egg cell.  So where do stem cells come from?  That’s a good question, because there are no stem cells within sperm or egg.

Remember, we’re keeping this as simple as possible.  You will not have a degree in genetics or in human development after reading this.  Two general categories of stem cells exist, embryonic and adult.  There are more scientific names than embryonic and adult, but they are more difficult to spell and pronounce and they translate to English as embryonic and adult, so for our purposes, embryonic and adult will suffice.

All of you know that the moment sperm joins egg is referred to as conception.  Soon after the uniting of sperm and egg (conception), the fertilized egg attaches itself to the lining of the mother’s uterus and stem cell production begins.  At this point, all stem cells produced are embryonic.  It is my understanding that during the nine months of initial human development, all stem cells are embryonic.  Embryonic stem cells are amazing little cell factories capable of producing any type of human cell they are instructed to create.  Yes, instructed to create.  Somehow, something provides the instructions needed by the embryonic stem cells in order that the child be constructed in a logical sequence, with all of the necessary equipment that a human being will need to survive outside of it’s mother’s uterus.   A viable human being with a heart, kidneys, five fingers on each hand, two legs and on and on and on?  That, my friends is a major portion of the mystery.  Your guess is as good as mine where the instructions come from.  Scientists the world over are asking the same question.  All we know at this time is that somehow within the fertilized egg, embryonic stem cells receive a unique blueprint that will determine exactly what traits this baby will have when it is born, what characteristics the child will display as it develops, and what talents this person will exhibit as an adult.  So, sperm joins egg, egg implants, embryonic stem cells are developed, stem cells produce individual bone cells that develop into all of the 206 different bones that a human being has,  and heart cells and lung cells, and eye cells, and individual nerve cells until within a few weeks, we have a partially developed being with human features.  This process continues, and a person is assembled within the confines of it’s mother’s uterus until the child is developed to the point that it no longer needs the mother’s own body systems to live.  The child has it’s own body systems that are capable of maintaining the life of this new person outside of it’s mother’s body, and the child is born.  At some point after birth, adult stem cells replace embryonic stem cells.  Adult stem cells are more limited in what they can become, but are still cell factories and produce all of the cells that a person needs to grow, to replace dead and damaged cells, so as to continue the life of this human being.  In old age, stem cell production slows, and with fewer stem cells, a person’s body can longer replace cells as quickly as they die, and aging is apparent.  If the aging person is able to avoid death by accident, or by one of the dreaded diseases of old age, they will eventually die because they will lose more cells than their body is able to replace and vital organ functions slow, or cease.  Scientists believe that if our stem cells remained embryonic throughout life, that we could possibly live forever because we would be able self repair for eternity.  This is not the case however, and we are all doomed to live seventy five years or so, and the life cycle ends.

Is this an accident?  We’re only talking about humans here.  What about all of life and it’s different forms?  What about planets and the sun, the moon, the stars? The water cycle? What about oxygen and carbon dioxide?  Humans and animals need oxygen to live and these living things meet their oxygen needs by removing oxygen from air or water, and then release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or into the water where plants use the carbon dioxide, then release oxygen into the atmosphere or water so that neither plant, nor animal, nor human ever uses all of the available oxygen or carbon dioxide?

Is this an accident?  Is this happenstance?  Is this all the result of pure chance?  I know what I believe, but what I believe doesn’t matter to you.  What matters to you is what you believe.  What if what you believe matters for more than seventy five years.

“Why”?  “Why, Butch Alexander, do you have a blog”?  “Who are you anyway”?  “Do you think that you are special”?  “Why do you do this”?

Good questions, dear readers.  Worthy questions for certain.  No, I don’t think I’m important, or special, or smarter than the next guy.  I’m just an average guy.  An Arkansas public school teacher and coach recently retired.  Retired as of June, 2014 after spending most of the passed forty years doing just that.  Teaching and coaching.  So, now I’m retired and I have no one to teach.  No class to prepare for.  No tests to grade.  No pencil sharpener to empty.  Yes, even in this technological era, students still need an occasional pencil.  So………..maybe, I’m looking for a way to continue doing what I love.  “OK, ”  you’re wondering, “you love to empty the pencil sharpener”?  No, I don’t love emptying the pencil sharpener.  In fact, I detest those messy contraptions all full of shavings, wood dust, graphite filings.  What I love, is making people think.  Examine.  Question.  And, after all of that use of their brain, to finally commit to something.  The best teachers you see, at least in my mind, aren’t those people with a vast knowledge of a particular subject who repeat facts and then expect their students to memorize those facts and then pass tests to prove the students have mastery of that material.  No, not at all.  The best teachers, the very, very best teachers are those people who motivate others to think, and then to ask, “Why”?

So, do you like sports?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Not everyone likes sports.  Not everyone should like sports.  It may or not be your thing.  I’m an athlete and a coach, but I like lots of other things as well.  Good music for one.  So maybe, you’re a musician who has no use for sports.  Just hang with me on this one.  Whether you like sports or not is not as important as this one thing.  “What one thing”?  This one thing.  Most sports involve offense and defense.  Or defense and offense, if you prefer. “What is offense and what is defense”, you ask?  As a teacher, my standard answer to such questions was, “Here is a dictionary.  Look it up”!  So, let’s look it up.

Offense:  a noun meaning any cause of anger or displease;  insult;  injury;  assault.

Offensive:  an adverb meaning causing displeasure;  annoying;  disagreeable;  disgusting;  used in attack.

Offend:  A verb meaning to displease or make angry;  molest or annoy;  pain or shock;  to transgress;  do anything displeasing.

Defense:  a noun meaning the act or state of defending or being defended;  protection;  vindication by force or argument;  a defendant’s plea or answers.

So, what I like about sports is that at the base of most sports is an individual or team attempting to score points by being offensive, that is by attacking, while the other team attempts to stop the score of their opponent by being defensive, or protective.  Why bring this up?  Much of modern dialogue is impossible because most individuals become offense and defensive regarding their beliefs.

As I have stated in the past, all humans need to have values (those things that the individual believes to be non negotiable rights or wrongs), and all human beings need to have a world view (where did all things, including ourselves come from).  In order to establish our own personal belief system, the individual must be open to new ideas, to learn, to process, and finally to decide what he/she believes.  Once these beliefs have been established, the individual should not change those beliefs without good reason.  I’ve already established that one of my beliefs is that freedom is a gift, and that gift allows me to make my own decisions regarding my personal beliefs, values, and worldview.  Another of my beliefs is that while you and I are free to discuss our values and world view, neither of us has the right to force our views on each other, nor should one attack the other personally when we disagree.  Additionally neither should we become defensive when the other expresses their personal opinion.  You and I need to disagree, agreeably, when we disagree.

Reread the definition of defense.  So defense is whatever means one uses to protect oneself, or others.  Reread again.  Notice the definition may come by force, argument, plea, or answer.  These are all very different means of defense.  One definition implies the defending of oneself or another in a court of law.  A second implies a physical defense, as in a fight or a war.  The third definition is the one that is the most applicable at this time, and that is, according to Webster, “to defend by argument”.  In fact the exact wording to which I refer is “vindication by argument”.

Vindication:   a verb meaning to prove to be valid; defend successfully;  assert a right to; justify;  or a noun meaning justification against denial, censure, or opposition;  defense; support by proof.

Argument:  a noun meaning that which is advanced in support of proof with a view to persuade or convince the mind;  a discussion, controversy or debate;  the subject of a discourse or writing;  an abstract or summary of a book.

So, defense may be physical or verbal, but an argument is always verbal, never physical.  Keep in mind that I’m a retired football coach, as well as a participant in the game.  I’ve always enjoyed the game of football because I enjoy contact.  Body against body.  Pushing. Shoving.  Grappling.  That’s how I’m wired.  So I’m not against that which is physical.  If you seek to deny me my life, my liberty, or my pursuit of happiness, I’ll become physical in a hurry.  My point is that the discussion of thoughts, beliefs, values,  should not result in violence.  Disagreement regarding beliefs, values, or worldviews does not deny one their life, liberty or pursuit of happiness.  The discussion of thoughts may result in an argument, but should not result a fist fight.  I’m trying to establish the fact that while you may not always agree with me, and I may not always agree with you, this disagreement should not result in either of us becoming offensive, defensive, or both.

That being said, my desire is not to offend.  Neither do I wish to become defensive.  I will state my beliefs from time to time, but you don’t have to buy what I’m selling.  If our beliefs collide, disagree, but don’t become offensive.  Don’t attack me personally.  Trust me, I won’t attack you.  I may disagree, but I won’t attack.  If a person says, “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept your beliefs”, it’s not the same as saying, “If you believe that, you’re stupid”.  If my beliefs cause you to become offensive, or defensive, stop reading my comments.  Unless you threaten my life, my liberty, or my pursuit of happiness or that of someone else, your thoughts, your beliefs, your values will not offend me.  I ask you to return the courtesy.

The Declaration of Independence, a document hundreds of years old, written by a group of men known as the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, provides a great deal of information regarding the worldview of these same gentlemen.  Worldview, you will remember was defined in the post dated March 11, 2015 as:  1) the overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world or 2) a collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.  It was also pointed out that the German word, weltanschauun, combines both meanings by describing a comprehensive conception or image of the universe and humanity’s relation to it. All human beings, whether they admit it or not, whether they think about it or not, whether the term worldview is in their vocabulary or not, whether or not whatever,  All Human Beings Have A Worldview.

What is yours?  What is your worldview?  When the author considers possible worldviews , only two legitimate possibilities come to mind.  One possibility is that the universe including all life (plants, animals, etc.) as well as all lifeless objects is purely an accident.  The other possibility is that some being greater than man made the universe including all life as well as lifeless objects.  Some might respond, ” Trying to determine where all of this including myself came from is above my pay grade”.  Well, it’s all above my pay grade as well, and that is precisely the point.  It’s also a copout.  Think about and make a decision.  One’s worldview is important.

Regardless of your worldview, or the author’s, it is obvious that at least the majority of the Founding Fathers agreed on a worldview. The Founding Fathers shared a common belief regarding the beginning of the earth, other planets, the sun, moon, stars and all of life.  It’s obvious that the Founding Fathers didn’t believe the beginning of all that we know to exist was due to a cosmic explosion of some unknown origin.  Upon examination of the first sentence of the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence it is obvious that the Founding Fathers believed that existing somewhere is a Great Being more intelligent, more powerful, and more creative than any human being, or any group of human beings.  A Great Being, a Creator, that endowed all of mankind, every human being that has lived, is alive, or will be alive, “with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Is this a valid belief?  Does a Creator exist?  That decision is up to you, dear reader.  You are free.  You have liberty.  Free will is at your disposal.  Make a decision.  Stop standing on the fence.  The gift of life is freedom.  Choice.  And the Founding Fathers believed this freedom  to make one’s own choices in life, was not a gift of some government established by man.  The Founding Fathers believed that freedom and free will to be the ultimate gift of the Great Being they referred to in the Declaration of Independence as the Creator.  And so the Fathers declared the freedom of the citizens of the United States from the heavy yoke of the king of England.

Depending upon their age, the reader may or may not recognize the title of today’s post.  If you don’t recognize the title of today’s post, then you’re probably not a Baby Boomer.  If you do recognize the title, then you probably are a Baby Boomer, or older.  Boomers were almost universally commanded to memorize portions, or perhaps the entirety of certain historical documents, and speeches.  Because of this post World War II social studies requirement, most all Boomers immediately recognize the first sentence of the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence.  At the time of the experience, I did not appreciate nor did I understand the purpose of these requirements.  Now, many years later I do.  Life and happiness are wonderful, but life itself has provided no greater gift than liberty.  Liberty  was not defined in any prior post, because defining liberty would have no purpose.  Liberty simply implies freedom, free will, and freedom of choice.  All human beings, no matter their station in life, are free.  Free.  Free to chose what they think.  Free to choose what they believe.  Free to choose where they go.  Free to choose whom or what they worship of don’t worship.  Free to choose whatever they wish to choose.

“Now, wait a minute”, you say.  “No, no I’m not free to choose”.  “I’m fourteen years of age, and I Had To Go To School Today“, or “I’m a married man with three kids, a mortgage, and two car payments, and I Had To Go To Work Today“!  No you didn’t.  You didn’t have to do anything you didn’t want to do.  You choose to go to school, work, or whatever because you didn’t want to deal with what would happen if you didn’t.  No one, however made you do anything, and don’t fool yourself into believing someone else makes your decisions for you.  I don’t blame you for going to school or work, my choice would be to do the same, but it would be My Choice.  I made the choice.   If I were imprisoned I could choose to not obey the guards, if enslaved I could choose not to obey my master, if held at gunpoint I could choose to try to escape.  My freedom, my freedom of choice, my free will is a gift that can not be taken away by man.  Now granted, some of us are blessed with less restricted choices.  More freedom.  Greater rights.  If you are an American, living in America, your choices are less restricted by government than in any other country, keeping in mind however, that my rights, my freedoms, end where the next persons freedoms begin.  That’s why we have governments and laws.  To provide protection for the freedom that others wish to take from us.  American, do you realize how blessed you are, and are you thankful for this blessing.  Do you realize how many have died, and continue to die for your liberty?  Do you think of those that have been maimed and continue to be maimed for your liberty?

As a free thinker, I’m asking you to be a free thinker.  When I use the term free thinker, I’m referring to Webster’s first definition of free thinker, that is  One who forms his own opinions independently of others.  I’m not asking you to believe anything that I believe because I think it best.  I’m asking you to open up your brain, your ability to reason, your good judgment, and decide what you want to believe and to do what you choose to do.  If you are old enough to make your own decisions, make them.  Make your own decisions about everything, but especially about what you believe about everything, including your personal freedom.

My wife and I married some forty five years ago.  August 31, 1970 to be exact.  Besides herself, one of her more important contributions to our marriage was her dowry.  Most of it fit inside a very pretty “Hope Chest” her parents purchased for her.  I feel certain hope chests are no longer in vogue.  To provide enlightenment, a hope chest is purposeful.  A moderately sized wooden box lined with cedar to provide it’s contents with protection from insects, mold, mildew, and odor.   Many formerly referred to  these chests as “Cedar Chests”.  The dowry also contained some furniture, a dictionary, and a really nice, 1967 Ford Mustang.  Besides the cedar chest, her wedding gown, a few pieces of the better furniture, and the dictionary, most all of those items are gone.  Of the remaining, the one item that I treasure the most is the dictionary.  And a fine dictionary it is.  A 1959 edition of Webster’s  New School and Office Dictionary, published by The World Publishing Company of Cleveland and New York.  My wife Karen’s name is in the dictionary, as well as on it, along with the name of her sister, Sherry.  Obviously the dictionary was passed around from child to child to use for school work. Karen and I own other larger dictionaries, as well as newer dictionaries, but this one, this 54 year old dictionary is my favorite.  Nostalgia, I’m certain.  Nostalgia  and the fact that it contains words defined in the manner that I understand.  I know, English is a living language.  I don’t have to like that fact.    Anyway, unless stated otherwise, my definitions will be from this dictionary.  How can one go wrong with a dictionary that states, “Based Upon The Broad Foundations Laid Down By Noah Webster” on it’s title page.  Below are terms that I will use from time to time, the definitions of which must be clarified to avoid misunderstanding.

TERMS

1. Define:  A verb meaning to determine the limits of; describe the nature or property of.
2. Definition:  A noun meaning a brief description or explanation of the precise meaning of a term, phrase, etc.;  a concise statement.
3. Absolute:  An adjective meaning free as to condition;  perfect in itself;  unlimited in power;  irrevocable;  despotic;  positive.  A noun meaning the will or power of the Almighty.
4. Truth:  A noun meaning agreement with reality;  eternal principle of right,  or law of order;  veracity;  fidelity;  fact;  realization;  conformity to rule or example; righteousness;  the right religion.
5. Absolute Truth:  A philosophic term, not listed in Webster’s,  whose existence has been debated for centuries.  My own paraphrased  definition would be, something that is always true, never relative, perfect and unlimited in it’s power.  To borrow from the definitions of absolute and truth from above, an irrevocable fact.  One of my favorite professors from my days at Arkansas Tech was Dr. Travis Arterbury.  Dr. Arterbury taught us that many would ague there are no absolute truths, however, making such a statement is, in fact, an absolute truth.
6. Free:  An adjective meaning without restraint;  at liberty;  permitted;  liberal;  generous;  open;  clear of guilt;  independent;  familiar;  licentious (unrestrained morally or legally);  not arbitrary or despotic;  spirited;  not attached or fixed;  uncombined;  invested with the franchise, etc.  A verb meaning to set at liberty; emancipate;  rid or exempt;  clear.  An adverb meaning gratuitously.
7. Freedom:  A noun meaning the state of being free;  liberty;  independence;  ease in performance;  particular priviledge;  absence of conventionality;  undue familiarity.
8. Free Thinker:  A noun meaning one who forms his opinions independently of others; one who rejects revelation in religion, and dogmatic belief; a latitudinarian.
9. Latitudinarian:  an adjective meaning wide in range or scope; lax in religious principals:  a noun meaning one who holds broad views; a free thinker.
10. Freewill:  and adjective meaning voluntary; holding the theological doctrine that man is free to exercise his will for good or for evil.
11. Worldview:  Another term that is not in Webster’s.  Online I was able to find definitions on several sites.  Oxford Dictionaries states, “A particular philosophy of life or conception of the world”.  Additionally, the Random House  2010 edition of Webster’s College Dictionary provides the following:  1)  The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.  2)  A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.  In both senses, also referred to by the German term, Weltanschauun.  Weltanschauun is defined as a comprehensive conception or image of the universe and humanity’s relation to it.

So, do absolute truths exist?  Are you free?  Should one be free to be free?  Does government provide freedom? Should one have a worldview?  If one should have a worldview, why?

A prior post introduced the idea of values.  Values, as stated in that article, are those things one believes are always right and always wrong.  Values are important to a society.  Values are an important feature of the culture of a nation.  Culture is much more than music, dance, and visual art.  People living together as a group must agree on what behavior by the people within that group is tolerable, state what is intolerable, determine just punishment for intolerable behavior, and finally establish a fair system to deal with any offenders of the system.  Such a system is known as a government.  The only reasonable means of establishing a system of government is for someone to determine what is always wrong.  That “someone” can be an individual within the group, the majority of the entire group, or individuals selected by the majority of the entire group to represent the the beliefs of this majority. From it’s inception, the United States of America has used this last style of government.

So, what about Freedom and Individual Rights?  The most wonderful gift of being an American citizen living within these United States is that we have both.  Both freedom and individual rights.  The wonderful gift bears a great burden.  “How so”, the reader asks?  How can freedom and individual rights be a burden”?  Well, back in the dark ages (1952 AD until 1970 or so, and please keep in mind, I can only honestly draw reference to the period of time that I have actually experienced life) my parents, my adult relatives, the parents of my friends, all social studies teachers, and most of my teachers and school administrators agreed, “Young man, your rights end where the rights of all other people begin”.  So the burden is, I must put your rights ahead of mine, and you must put my rights ahead of your own.  And you and I have the freedom to choose to do just that, or not.  I’m not certain a majority of American citizens believe this today.  I’ve witnessed a slow change in this belief.  I’m not certain this concept is stressed in most American schools today.  This belief that it is all about me is frightening.

This system is based upon the agreement of the majority of the persons governed as to what is right 100% of the time, and what is wrong 100% of the time.  Values.  There’s that word again, values.

Okay.  Here we go.  My first post.  As with any endeavor, getting started is the most difficult part of, of………….., of getting started.  So, let’s get started.  The last thing that I would ever want to do is sound like some crotchety old man.  Since I am sixty three years of age, many readers might believe it impossible for me to not sound like a crotchety old man.  I’m going to give it a try anyway.  Do you want to know what confuses me?  Check the title of this post.  The title is, “I’m Confused.  What About You?”.   Values.  Yes values, that’s what confuses me.  More appropriately, the seeming lack of values in the American society today.

Many readers not initially confused, may now be joining the confused.  Why?  Because we may not share the same definition of the word, values.  You do realize don’t you, that words are big deals.  Words are powerful agents that set the tone of every conversation, no matter if the conversation is written or spoken.  I speak no language other than English, so I have no point of reference for other tongues, but I know for a fact that English is a complicated and a confusing language.  Complicated because we have many words; because several words sound identical but have different spellings as well as different definitions; because many words have multiple definitions; because of countless grammatical rules; on and on and on.  Don’t even get me started on punctuation.  I hope, dear reader that you get the point.

Now that I’ve set the stage, please allow me to clear up a few items.  First, let’s return to the subject of words.  As previously stated, to be perfectly clear when communicating with others, the writer/speaker must ensure that all concerned understand the definitions of certain terms.  For that reason, at times I will include definitions somewhere in my posts.  Unless otherwise noted, all definitions will be sourced from Webster’s New School and Office Dictionary; 1959; The World Publishing Company, Cleveland and New York.  Yes, I know the copyright date and the title are at odds.  How can this dictionary be titled New and be published in 1959?  I will apologize, but I am not ashamed.  I make no excuses.  I like this dictionary.  Additionally,  it’s my blog, therefore I get to make the rules.

With that stated, let’s define values.  This is not from Webster, but is an Alexander paraphrased definition.  Values:  what one believes to be right or wrong.  Yes, what one believes to be right or wrong, and not just part of the time.  Not just when it is convenient.  What one believes to be right or wrong all of the time.

Before I close, let’s establish one more thing.  Please excuse errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, etc.  I actually have a decent command of the English language.  Why back in the Spring of 1970, while a Senior at Atkins high School in Atkins, Arkansas I scored highly enough on an English proficiency test to receive three hours credit in Freshman grammar, courtesy of Arkansas Polytechnic College, Russellville, Arkansas.  Please keep in mind that this is a blog.  By definition, a personal journal of an individual whose soul is bared to the world.  This is not a newspaper article, short story, a novel, or a textbook.  It’s a self published blog.  I have no editorial staff.  If I don’t catch the error, it gets published.  I feel certain that I will miss many errors.  If I spend too much time attempting to self edit, I’ll never post anything.  This being said, please don’t point out those glaring errors of the King’s English.  I do know better.  Ernestine Haralson,  Gaye Morgan, and Alta Cheek saw to that.  “Who are these ladies”, you ask?  Those ladies, those fine ladies were my English instructors in junior high and high school.  And they were the best.

Truth.  How do you feel about the truth?  Is truth something you always want to hear from others, but don’t always tell?  What is the difference between truth and absolute truth?  What about freedom?  We all wish to be free to do whatever we want, but do we want others to share this same level of freedom?  What is the definition of worldview, and do I have one?

My name is Butch Alexander.  As I write this, I am a 63 year old,  semi-retired, married, male.  Thirty-five of the past 40 years were spent teaching Health, Physical Education, Driver Education and coaching football, basketball, and track in several different Arkansas public school systems.  I was also in insurance sales for a time, and later owned and managed a business.  These vocations were all time consuming requiring from 60 to 80 hours a week of my life.  Now, with more free time to read and reflect, I have found myself developing a strong interest in American History, truth, freedom, and Western Civilization. Daily, current events push me to additional research, and more reflection.  Research and reflection, along with the teacher in me, has inspired me to reach out to others.  So, let’s get started.  “Hello world“.