America by Dinesh D'Souza

If there is no God, then what does it all mean?  Why is there something and not nothing?

Chapter 1; pages 1 and 2:

Writing in the mid-twentieth century, the French existentialist writer Albert Camus posed for human beings a central question: to exist or not to exist. In Camus's words, "There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide." In a sense, this was Hamlet's question: "To be or not to be." For Camus, human beings had lived for millenia in a meaningful universe, a universe created by God, and one that gave significance and purpose to human life. But now, Camus wrote, we have discovered through science and reason that the universe is pointless, merely a constellation of flashing and spinning orbs and objects. God is absent from the world, which is another way of saying he does not exist for us. Consequently humans have to find ultimate meaning elsewhere, and there is nowhere else to look. So life becomes, in Shakespeare's words, "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Drawing on ancient myth, Camus likened the human predicament to that of Sisyphus endlessly rolling the rock up the hill, only to see it roll back down.

For Camus, the problem wasn't merely that the universe lacks meaning; it was that man desires meaning and there is no meaning to be had. Consequently our situation is kind of absurd. "The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world." Most people, according to Camus, ignore this tragic reality. They deflect the meaninglessness of their lives by engaging in various trivial pursuits. But for morally serious people, Camus says, this deflection is not an option. He Proposes that humans must take the absurdity of their lives seriously, and in doing so, they must consider whether to live in tragic absurdity or voluntarily end their lives.  Suicide, for Camus, was an ethical choice.

Yep...

"Helping" with Football

Charlestown's former Coach Jason Hawkins is now the head football coach at Silver Creek.  His record with the Pirates was quite impressive and his coming here has added a new level of excitement to the program.  He has done a wonderful job reaching out to people in the community and one of them was me.

He asked me to be "on the staff", but really, I don't feel comfortable with that.  He wants me around for a couple of different reasons, but I think it is to be some kind of influence on the sideline.  Hopefully a positive one.  I know coaching, I have done it for 25 years in one sport or another.  When I say I know coaching, I mean that I know kids, I know how to deal with them, and I know how to be in charge.

In dealing with the kids, I think I need to be positive about what is going on; on the field.  If things are going well, great, they may not be for a specific individual.  Things may not be going well for the team, and it is important to stay positive.  However, I do not think I have been called to be a pushover or someone who is going to take it easy on the players.  I will have a smile and pat on the shoulders, but I will also be ready to be honest with them.  Blunt honesty is often the best policy.

I have enjoyed the little time I have been around Coach Hawkins, his staff, and the players.  I hope that I can do something small to make the team better, but I can tell you, it won't be anything technical.  I've only played college football on Xbox.

It's....Um....Complicated

There is a fine line with me.  There is the touchy, soft side and there is the competitive, tough side.  There is the side where I could be hit over the head with a 2 by 4 and not flinch and there is the part where one...small...word...can break me.  Yet even that does not always hurt.

But when dealing with others hurting those I care about with words or in other ways, I get a little less...um...Christian like, I guess you could say.  I handle criticism for myself much better than I do for those around me that I care about.

Plus, it really burns me if someone has a problem with me and they go to my boss (it hasn't happened at SC yet) or worse, go to social media before they talk with me.  Get off Facebook and Twitter about your problems with individuals and do what they did back before the Internet, talk to them face to face or just talk behind their back.

You want respect?  You don't want to hear me rant?  It is real simple and I mean REAL simple.  Treat me and others the way you want to be treated.  I don't care about your past, I don't care about my past, I don't care about how hard life is (it can be real hard), treat me and others the way you want to be treated.  And if I cross the line, I will give a genuine apology, there won't be any doubt what it was.

R.I.P. robin Williams

Always funny and I grew up laughing at him and then he got all serious and helped change my life.  This.....

In My Backyard

(yep, my house in this shot)

Interesting that I get into these moments where I really do not have much to write about.  I am finishing up week 2 at SC, my new school, and I am enjoying myself.  Some things are different, to be sure, but overall it is nice.  I can walk home in less than 5 minutes from work.  I have not driven my car in two days, only using a half tank in 9 days.

Last night, I came home and mowed my grass.  Then in one big circle of the school, I was able to watch the volleyball team practice, the end of football practice, the soccer players finishing up some conditioning, and some baseball workouts.

Yesterday, I had a student approach me about a Bible study.  He wanted a teacher who would supervise the class while they were participating, and that is a nice thing.  The YFCA students pray every other morning and it has grown steadily since the first day.

Lots of great things going on here and for me.  Still....I miss parts of "home".  I miss the connections that I had with some of the students, and teachers.  Those will come here and in a year or two, the students at HHS will be gone and I won't know any of them anyway, but I will still have my short walk home and my stroll to see so many great things going on in my "backyard".