Greek Year

 Hello everyone, 

We are underway with our Ancient Greece class. Please check out the registration link above to register and for information on the class, click on the Syllabus link.

My Graduation Speech for Mount Liberty College

Good afternoon faculty, students, family, and friends! At first, I was excited when I realized that I was asked to speak to represent the graduating class as the valedictorian, but then reality set in and I realized that this came by way of default as I am the only graduate! It is truly an honor to be standing here before you today after a long steady march of 14 years. While my education started at a different liberal arts college, the crowning education I have received is here at Mount Liberty College.

It is my hope that as I tell a little of my journey of nurturing and enriching my heart and mind, you can see yourself in this journey and see how an education in the Great Books can transform you. The Great Books were written for the common man. John Erskine clarified this when he said, “The men who wrote these books would have been horrified if they had known that you and I might think of them only as matter for school and college courses. They wrote to be read by the general public, and they assumed in their readers an experience of life and an interest in human nature nothing more.”

In my long 14-year journey taking one class per semester, I can strongly say with Plato and John Milton that the most important knowledge is to “Know thyself” and “Know God aright!”

Know thyself

A long time ago and not far, far away
lived a mom who practically lived in a zoo
She had so many children
She didn’t know what to do.
It wasn’t her intention
to cause so much contention,
but she lacked a solid foundation
Of a great education.
Whatever parenting trick she tried,
Her children did not abide.
And while her marriage seemed okay,
It wasn’t “parfait”.
She spent a lot of time crying and making mistakes;
Yelling and screaming and causing headaches.
She wanted to reform them to ease her affliction,
But any amount of force caused more friction.
She felt like a failure—bottom line.
Until she learned from Albert Einstein,
“The world as [I] have created it is a process of [my] thinking.
It cannot be changed without changing [my] thinking.”

That mom was me. I knew I needed to change my thinking if I were to change the way I behaved with my children, my husband, and all those around me. Fortunately, I found a small liberal arts school and started reading the Great Books. These classics revealed to me my nature and the consequences of my thoughts, behaviors, and actions.

The Delphic maxim “Know Thyself” used by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle was meant as a warning that before proceeding or considering anything, one ought to investigate themselves. Looking inward and understanding ourselves is considered the starting point for understanding the world and the people around us.

I began my journey to know myself through literature, history, and philosophical works that “created this magic surface in which [I could] see [myself] more clearly than elsewhere.” When I opened and read the books I found reflections of myself. I could see flaws, I could see my strengths and I could see what would happen if I gloated over my strengths.

1. Shakespeare’s Shylock showed me what unmerciful justice looks like
2. John Locke reflected on ways to help my family live peaceably in our little home government
3. Milton showed me the power of evil
4. Hobbes unveiled to me my autocratic awfulness
5. Aristotle taught me how to balance virtues between two extremes.
6. Victor Hugo’s, Javert, increased my knowledge on balancing too much justice with little to no mercy.
7. Francis Bacon taught me not to rely on the status quo, but to think for myself by inquiry
8. Jane Eyre showed me how to rely on laws and principles when I am feeling insane
9. Twentieth-century leaders showed me the wretched effect of autocratic control and force.
10. But King Alfred and Odysseus showed me quite the opposite of principled leadership.

Know God

The second kind of knowledge, but not second to knowing myself is to know God. The Great Books deal with the most important questions of our earthly existence and they introduce us to universal principles which lie outside of us that continually inform us and tell us what to do in all situations. These are the laws of nature; they are the laws that God lives by and invites us to live for our ultimate happiness.

Oedipus taught me that I needed to know who I was in relation to my divine nature, and my purpose in life. I learned from him not to be blind, but to get clear and understand Truth.
Faust taught me to not sell my soul to the devil for worldly knowledge, fame, and power.
Socrates counseled me at the end of Plato’s Republic, to “hold fast ever to the heavenly way and follow after justice and virtue always…” John Milton convinced me “The end then of learning is… to know God aright, and out of that knowledge to love him, to imitate him, to be like him…” William Blackstone instructed me that obeying God is equal to finding ultimate happiness. He said, “For [God] has so intimately connected, so inseparably interwoven the laws of eternal justice with the happiness of each individual…[God] has…graciously reduced the rule of obedience to this one paternal precept, ‘that man should pursue his own happiness.’ [through obedience to] natural law”

How to help students know themselves and know God

Tonight I speak of the educational journey I’ve been on to know myself and to know God. And tomorrow I turn around and celebrate my husband’s journey as an educator for 30 years. When I was married I informed him I wanted him to be a religious educator—that decision has set the course for much of my personal learning and other educational pursuits. I am grateful he has let me fly and reach great heights of learning.

For the last two decades, following an intense desire of my heart, I have discovered that the very best way to learn is student-centered. What does that mean? It means that the student can only learn by teaching himself. Little to no amount of learning can be pushed into a soul, but it must be “drawn forth” through careful inquiry and dialogue. Fortunately, the liberal arts education I’ve received was student-centered. Our classes were designed around the Socratic method of inquiry and discussion. My senior paper has been all about transferring the balance of power of learning from the teacher to the student to learn to know themselves and to know God and their place in this world.


Conclusion

There are many institutions of education and many go through their doors to receive a certificate, but I believe that the greatest indicator of a well-educated individual is their capacity and willingness to assist fellow travelers on the path of life. Education is not represented by a certificate, but a life of service to God and their fellow man. I am the first to walk across the bridge of graduation from this marvelous institution. I recognize that with that comes the honor and responsibility to help others as they come to know themselves and to know God.

Back to that sad picture of a confused and angry mom, she changed her thinking and transformed her character and continues to do so. The path has been laid by the Greats and she is attempting to stand on their shoulders and bring others with her. Life is beautiful. Thank you

What Youth Are Saying About Humanities

What do you enjoy most about Humanities class?

1. I really like the books we have read and the discussions we’ve had on them.
2. This is a hard question because I enjoyed different things more at different points.
3. The discussions! In each class, students get a chance to exchange thoughts and ideas centered on the readings. Furthermore, they were heavily encouraged to practice their interdisciplinary skills by relating the readings to other concepts and media. Because the mechanisms of these discussions were so well-structured, I would often reach a new epiphany or perspective after each class.
4. Learning more in-depth and being able to talk about God in class.
5. The discussions we have in class, they help me pole out great principles and to bring knowledge into my everyday conversations.
6. Learning how to think deeply, find principles, and read challenging books.

What is most challenging about the class? How did you handle it?

1. For me, the most challenging thing about the class is not procrastinating on the readings. I have tried to handle this by starting the next reading as soon as I can after I finish the current one.
2. It's a time-intensive class. It takes a lot of time to do all the readings and writing reflections always took me a long time. I got a lot out of taking the time though.
3. Consistently reading long and sometimes complex books. Many of the books and poems we read through the semester were decently old and long. This meant one often had to reserve more time than expected to read through and understand the readings. Without reading or understanding the books, one could not contribute much to the discussions or learn much for yourself. To remedy this, I found it helpful to schedule your reading and/or your writing time each day at the same time. This way, I would not forget or run out of time before an assignment was due.
4. The reading. The way I handled it was just looking ahead and planning so then I could stay caught up and not feel overwhelmed.
5. It is the most challenging when I need to read a really hard book because of all its falsehoods and the evil spirit that comes from their actions or belief's that they have, but when those books come I like to spend more time reading the scriptures than that book so that I have the spirit of God with me instead of the yucky one that comes from the book.
6. Participating in discussions. You have to spend a significant amount of time on each assignment in order to understand it enough to come up with questions for the assignment. Sharing the things you learned is hard because it doesn’t always come outright. It is also hard sometimes to understand the message other people are trying to get across.

What are the discussions like?

1. The discussions are deep and require me to think. Most of the time we stay on topic but when we don’t we still have a great discussion.
2. It's possible to participate in the discussions without doing the reading when talking about broad topics. Offering an idea with some supporting evidence like a personal experience can direct the discussion in interesting ways. That said, it's much better to come to the discussions prepared. You'll be able to enjoy the discussions more and contribute more if you've done the reading, annotated in your book, written your reflections, and already thought of questions to talk about related to the reading.
3. Each discussion felt organic. They begin on one topic and often ended in on an entirely different one. Instead of a simple knowledge-based question-and-answer list, students get almost complete autonomy to guide conversations centered around quotes and ideas from the readings.
4. I like the discussions when we talk about each other's quotes and questions.
5. The discussions are a lot of fun and I learn a lot from them because they are sometimes about deep topics, liberty, and principles and sometimes just fun topics that you can still learn from.
6. Everyone brings questions to class and we go down the list trying to answer them and dig deeper into what each one can teach us. Some of the discussions were way over my head.

What do you feel you gained from the readings?

1. I have learned how to read hard books and learn from them. I have become better at retaining what I have read and I have been able to tie it in better.
2. I gained different things from different readings. Overall, the readings helped me to feel less intimidated about reading inaccessible texts. I feel more comfortable being uncomfortable and stretching myself. I really liked the accountability inherent in this class to do the readings. There are a lot of books that I want to read that I haven't sat down and read, but I got to read a lot of excellent literature through humanities class.
3. The carefully selected readings for this course have had a deep impact on my life. Almost every book I've read through this course, whether I've personally enjoyed it or not, has taught me lessons I can apply in my everyday life. The chosen literature for this course illuminates the perspectives, zeitgeist, and lessons from the past that remain relevant to this day.
4. Knowledge of things that happened in the past and being able to prevent them from happening again.
5. I gained a lot, and one thing I gained was how to not follow the same mistakes as those in the past and how to take the good they have to make me better and to bring back up to my arguments and proof to what I say so that it is not just an idea without support.
6. Understanding of how to read other hard books. The principles are worth the work of getting through the assignment.

How did you feel about the pace of the reading?

1. think the pace of the readings, while it feels fast, is at just the right place for the most growth.
2. I felt like the pace of the reading was good. It's reasonable to read 20-50 pages a day. I think it's good preparation for college. I can understand how this might be overwhelming if you have other classes that are also reading-intensive.
3. The pace of the reading was easily manageable once you got used to it. Depending on the book, I could complete my daily readings anywhere from 15-45 minutes. Since the reading pace could be slower, I often had time to go deeper into the readings with other sources.
4. Last year I thought it was really good.
5. For the most part, it is a good pace, though at times it was a little fast, nothing I couldn't handle if I worked for it.
6. It was difficult but good because it made you stay focused and on track.

In what ways have the humanities classes helped you?

1. I have become a better debater because of the discussions and the knowledge I’ve gained from the readings.
2. Humanities classes gave me an opportunity to practice thinking on my feet. The readings challenged me and made me think about things in new ways. The discussions were exciting and I loved relating literature to our lives. I liked hearing different people's perspectives. I think humanities classes sharpened my logic and critical thinking skills. They helped me learn how to analyze and articulate. I also feel like reflection is a tremendously important part of learning and that part of my educational philosophy was probably heavily influenced by humanities class.
3. I have learned how to present my thoughts clearer and more concisely. I feel more comfortable with public speaking. I learned how to tackle difficult books. I've learned how to formulate my own ideas from literature. I can debate and discuss more comprehensibly. Finally, I have gained a deeper respect for a real liberal arts education.
4. It has helped me to see others point of views
5. It has helped me be a better thinker, to bring proof to my arguments, and pole out the good in the world, and recognize the bad and what I can do against it.
6. I have recognized the topics we are studying in other aspects of my life and has helped me understand things I need to improve on.

If you could change anything about the class what would it be and why?

1. I think if I could change one thing about the class it would be to have everybody share their thoughts. I feel that most of the time theirs only 5-6 of us who fully participate in the discussion. I think that if everybody shared we’d all get more out of it.
2. I'm not sure the best way to articulate this, but I think the method of moving from book to book works better for studying literature than history. Sometimes, I felt like classmates represented an entire time period in their minds with one person and their literary work that we read. I wish there was some type of way to ground the literature in a historical timeline and present various, including opposing, figures that lived in the same time period. The historical context of a piece was usually covered as a short lecture in class time which probably made it easy to compartmentalize or forget because we had reflections only for the reading. I think a more robust historical analysis using textual evidence would be beneficial. (Mentor’s thoughts: Humanities is not a study of chronological history, but a study of ideas and truths and how to become a better individual because of our study. It is true that a contextual study of history would be beneficial.)
3. Make study groups more a part of the class. I think expressing your ideas in class is the most formative aspect of this course. It gives you a chance to exercise your knowledge, think aloud, and hear other perspectives. However, we have a limited amount of time in class. I've found that incorporating student-led study groups is a perfect remedy to this issue. Study groups provide additional time dedicated to class topics and a more casual environment where students are more likely to participate.
4. I wouldn't change anything.
5. I would read more books like the Hiding place that are good edifying books, though it is important to read the hard books and there would not need to be much changing to add those in because there are those books and it does not need to add those books and change to be amazing I learn a lot from those hard books they should not be taken out.
6. Maybe call on a few people specifically in class that don’t talk much to answer questions. Might encourage people to talk more.

How would a youth know when they are ready for this class?

1. When they want a challenge that will make them grow.
2. I think someone is ready for this class if they are confident they can regularly turn in assignments and they understand how to communicate with an instructor and classmates to ask for help when it is needed. If you are unable to ask for help when you need it, then you can develop learning gaps you aren't even aware of. You should be a confident and curious reader who is willing to devote at least half an hour a day to reading for this class. You should also be comfortable with basic reading comprehension and analysis and writing at least a paragraph in response to question prompts.
3. I think that you can tell when you mature enough to handle the reading.
4. When they choose to read harder books on their own and are responsible enough to take charge of their own learning (not being reminded to do homework).
5. Hunger for a liberal arts education. Be at a higher level of reading comprehension where you know you can (somewhat) understand higher-level readings. Confident enough at expressing your ideas in a group.

What advice do you have for the youth that are about to take this class?

1. Study hard, participate, and be ready to learn!
2. Approach a text with an open mind. Allow the reading to surprise you. Try to temper your expectations or assumptions about what the text might be saying until you have the full context. Be willing to look to other sources for additional information to help you interpret the text. It's helpful to look up terms you don't understand or situate a text within the context of the time period. Reading a summary before you read the text can be helpful for comprehension.
3. Regular study groups are a great opportunity to explore the texts and topics covered in a humanities class in more depth. They can be a really great way to practice speaking up and help you become more comfortable talking in class. They can be a great way to connect with your classmates and learn more about their experiences and perspectives. They are also very helpful for preparing for assessments.
4. You get what you put in. Participate in class discussions. Annotate in your books. Take time to write detailed reflections on the reading.
5. Don't be afraid to look or feel stupid. I can't tell you how many times I have held back a thought in a discussion or an assignment because I thought it did not add anything, but that was my loss. How can you grow without feeling understanding you're probably wrong about a lot of things? This class's culture is incredibly welcoming and understanding. I'd describe it, for lack of a better word, as a safe space. Give yourself enough time in the week to complete your assignments on time. It might be tempting to postpone your reading and writing till the last day (or hour), but it is much more worthwhile to at least start your assignments early so you can turn things in on time to get a better grade and more time to imbibe what you learned. Don't be afraid to use outside sources. While this class studies some of the most essential documents, stories, and people of history, it can sometimes be a little overwhelming to read older English or long poems without missing something. Something so amazing about the internet is its infinite amount of information just one search away. Almost every semester, I've used Wikipedia, GoogleScholar, and YouTube to get additional or deeper knowledge on topics and concepts we went over in class.
6. DON'T get behind! Just always look a week ahead so you can be prepared.
7. It will be hard to keep up at first but still go on, you will learn so much, and don't be afraid to talk in class because for me that is where I learn the most.
8. Spend a lot of time studying the assignment so you feel like the discussions are worth it and you can participate.

Do you have anything else you would like to add that you did not write above?

1. As you seek an education do not forget to bring God in, because He will help you in many ways and He is more important than anything in this world, don't forget Him.

Quest For Happiness

The Declaration of Independence affirms that I may pursue happiness as an inherent right from God. As a mom, I want happiness, but why does it seem so hard to achieve? 

Happiness is ambiguous. Those who are religious link happiness to virtuosity, devotion to God, or being enlightened. For some happiness is a sense of contentment, inner peace, and deep satisfaction in their relationships, accomplishments, and surroundings. Still, for others, happiness is the pleasure they get from their career, hobbies, travels, and people they engage with. These variances are pure differences in emphasis. Many would agree that each view apprehends the essence of happiness. But which emphasis is best?

One of my favorite authors is Aristotle. He said, “Happiness is the highest good,” and to be happy it means you are striving to be virtuous, he continued. According to Aristotle, you achieve the “highest good” or happiness by practicing being a virtuous person. He warned, however, if you continued to practice old habits, you would destroy virtue. What did he mean by that? He referred to what is now known as the golden mean; more on that later.

As a young mom, I had high expectations for well-mannered children and when they weren’t, it annoyed me. Often I resorted to being a victim. I lost patience and wound up frustrated, angry, and sometimes yelled at them. I hated how I felt and none of us were happy. 

Why did I fail? Why weren’t my children obeying me and wanting to have good manners? Didn’t they know they would be happier if they were obedient and well-mannered? If they were, then we’d all be happier, right? I would think to myself, “I was the adult and the mature one, they needed only to follow my lead and be mature, true?”

But, how did I lead them? I wanted to be patient and kind. And yet, I led them with neither patience nor kindness. My original focus was for them to be well-mannered, not me. I led them with my old habits of expecting too much, showing annoyance when they didn’t conform, and then scolding them.

When I realized I needed to change, and not them, I found the path to happiness Aristotle taught me. 

Happiness is a choice

Aristotle said happiness is synonymous with virtue. He said, “Happiness is an activity of soul in accordance with perfect virtue.” Activity of the soul means to work on and master good habits. So, If I were to become patient, I’d have to practice being patient. And the same is true with all other virtues. If I were to be kind, or honest, or organized, I had to practice being kind, honest, and organized.

My journey toward the “highest good" began. I placed little reminder notes all over my house and told my children I would start practicing the virtues. I frequently read Nicomachean Ethics and other inspiring books such as Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography. His list of thirteen virtues hung on my bathroom mirror to remind me each day what I was practicing. 

Aristotle also warned the difficulty in acting in virtue. Often I would forget and resort to old habits. My heart would drop and I would remember that I had to replace those old habits with a practice of the virtues. 

Sometimes, in the middle of my fit of temper, I would remember, change my demeanor and apologize. The one positive thing with the sudden apology was that my children were learning how to change direction in their own situations and practice the virtues. Children mirror our actions. 

I soon found that happiness was based more on me than on them. We would all be happy through my patience and kindness because my children had someone who listened to them and cared for their emotional needs.

The Golden Mean

I promised to tell you about the golden mean.  You’ve heard the maxim, “Moderation in all things.” It stems from the golden mean. Aristotle explained that a virtue “is a mean between two vices, that which depends on excess and that which depends on defect” He meant that each virtue is the midpoint of two extremes. One extreme of the virtue is the unbridled excess of it, and the other extreme is the lack of it, or its deficiency. 

For instance, someone who eats too much will harm their health and another who eats too little will waste away. While food is necessary to life, if one has too much or too little they will harm their health. If they have the right amount their body will be strong and healthy. 

In a similar way, if one has too much or too little of the virtues, they will harm their soul, while if they achieve the perfect amount, their virtue will be strengthened. 

Remember my anger toward my children and the virtue I needed to replace it with? That virtue was patience.  Too little patience resulted in irascibility. On the other hand, trying to overdo the patience resulted in my children stepping all over me. The midpoint of the virtue is neither the excess nor the deficiency of it, but is true patience which inspires joy and happiness.

Aristotle’s golden mean works because it follows the natural laws. Ultimate happiness lies at the midpoint of each virtue. And the only person I can influence is me. As each of us moves toward the midpoint of the virtues, we finally find true happiness. 

STEM or Liberal Arts Education or Both?

Benjamin wants to code and works hard in High School moving up through the levels of math, performs well in his other classes, graduates with honors, attends a 24-week coding program at a state college and after a lot of work and huge expense, he becomes a web developer. A company hires him, he falls in love, gets married and begins a family and he is set for life. Or is he?

The educational push over the last couple of decades seems to be in the STEM subjects, such as coding, software design, etc. Students are paying the price to study in universities and colleges to learn the current technology. But, is there a problem with the overwhelming drive to excel in STEM? Should students be encouraged to focus mainly on science, technology, engineering, and math?

Sure, there are many important jobs that require knowledge in STEM such as computer programming, electrical, mechanical, or civil engineer, microbiologist, family practitioner, economist or urban planner, and industrial machinery mechanic to name a few. The cogs and gears in our world would simply stop without knowledge in STEM and the jobs that deal with it. 

However, the trend over the last 100 years or so has seen that artificial intelligence is increasingly getting better at replicating the jobs of humans. For some, AI is something to fear because it is taking over the jobs. For others, they know AI and automation are part of the normal course in advancing technologies. Take, for instance, the carriage drivers and typists that were replaced by automobiles and computers. Or the hand quilter being replaced by the machine quilter. And look at the advances in agricultural businesses. In years past the farmer would sell his apples to the packing companies, who would hire hundreds of seasonal employees and they would sort the apples into rankings or categories and then pack them accordingly. Now, the packers invest in efficient machinery that processes the product rapidly and more cost-effectively. 

Recently, my family and I took a tour of the Stemilt Packing company in Wenatchee, Washington while visiting my son. The massive, maybe 50,000 square foot warehouse boasted of the latest technology run by only five or ten workers. At one end, the apples were placed into water canals and moved along to wash, wax, and polish them. As they bobbed along they ran under a massive photo/x-ray machine that takes a photo image which determines if they have bad spots, worms, or other blemishes and directs those into different water canals for applesauce, pies, or discarding. The apples in excellent condition were then sorted into different sizes and packed accordingly for different retail sellers. I was amazed at the whole efficient process. Some would balk at the fact so many workers lost jobs due to the machinery. I can see their point, but only to a certain degree. Yes, AI is replacing jobs that can be replicable by robots, but that trend will always exist as long as there are humans and increased knowledge. 

Back to the question whether Benjamin is set for life or not, Roland Moore-Colyer’s internet article states, "Programming trends suggest that software development will undergo a radical change in the future: the combination of machine learning, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and code generation technologies will improve in such a way that machines, instead of humans, will write most of their own code by 2040,” It appears that Benjamin ought to be prepared to look for another job in 20 years right about the time his children are leaving home, going to college or getting married. Or in other words, very expensive time of life. 

The solution, you ask? Well, it is an age-old one and is evident in the lives of all the great thinkers and doers. A liberal arts education is an education that supplies the real-life answers. A liberal arts education gives the person the ability to see the needs of a situation, be a leader, be a creator, an ability to do anything that is needed. Before the modern colleges cropped up everywhere, it was required of all students to go through four years of rigorous education in the liberal arts so they could become the best people they could. They were required to learn the histories and the lessons of history, they were required to understand their culture and the great ideas presented in the best literature and philosophy works. The goal of a liberal arts education is to make men free. 

It helps to understand the literal meaning of the two words, liberal, and arts. The word liberal is derived from the Latin word liber, which simply and literally means “tree bark”. The fact is that the classic great works were originally printed on processed tree bark to make scrolls and bound books. It was known then and has been forgotten today, that these classic works contained the liberating ideas that gained and maintained freedom for any man who knew them. The word art means a set of rules you follow to do that particular thing. For instance, the art of painting with oils means the rules you follow to paint with the oil paints. It’s that simple. In the case of the liberal arts, it means the rules you follow to maintain liberty.

What can a human do that artificial intelligence cannot do? Humans can find truths, create, see beauty, build trust, be empathetic, “get the joke” or understand humor, understand sadness or loss, act on intuition, learn to speak and write well, and use Agency to choose. A liberal arts education teaches all this and so much more. It should teach a man or woman to be virtuous and honest so that when they are out in the world, they can be the man or woman God created them to be. Where a professional education teaches how to code, a liberal arts education teaches what to code and what not to code. 

The Google company has determined they want to hire employees efficient in eight areas. Note that the last area is the only one that has anything to do with professional training. The eight things they are looking for in a new employee are whether they can coach others, communicate well, listen, make connections with others, possess insights, are supportive, have critical thinking skills, and finally have IT knowledge. Most companies are looking for people who have a strong work ethic, can reason things out in their minds, are flexible, are prepared for any event, and are okay with working and thinking in uncharted areas. An education in the liberal arts is worth its weight in gold when it comes to preparing a person to work in any environment. Do a Google search for famous people who have a liberal arts degree and you will be amazed. 

It is true artificial intelligence is taking over many jobs, but a liberal arts education can prepare you for any job that is needed. Benjamin would never have to worry about losing his job because he’d have the ability to take on any job. Most companies will train their employees in their specific task, but what is equally essential is to be an honest, amiable, employee with a can-do attitude. 

Check out a new liberal arts college in Salt Lake City, called Mount Liberty College. I am attending part-time and loving it. I had the founders come to speak to my humanities class this week and this article was a result of what I learned in their presentation. You will be amazed at what you will become as you attend Mount Liberty and participate in the amazing discussions. Check out their newest class open to high schoolers age 16 and up called Defense Against the Dark Arts. 

Economic Laws Make Abundance Possible

Owning land boosts the economy more than you think. Renters are not producing anything for themselves, but are using someone else’s property and paying them, that means that one of the two is increasing and the other is not, generally speaking. When looking at the Mayflower Company and Plymouth Colony, you know they struggled that first year, but did you know they literally struggled to stay alive for their first three years? The Indians helped them out, in fact, I would not be surprised if Squanto had not been a godsend to them. He knew the English language well after having been taken captive by a Spaniard and taken to Spain where he escaped and traveled to and lived in England before he came back to his native land. He knew the language, the English customs, the religion, the food, and everything one could know about the English culture. When he returned home, he discovered that the plague had killed off all his people, leaving him the only survivor of his tribe. 

In the first three years of living at Plymouth, the hardships multiplied: deaths, starvation, extreme temperatures, illnesses, Indian raids, etc. Although the government had been set up before they set foot on land, some of the principles were against a good economic system. They had settled on a common land approach and were headed for oblivion as all nations do when they embrace a communal, socialist plan. 

In the diary of William Bradford, we discover that land was held in common, crops were brought to a common storehouse and equally distributed to all. For the first two years, every person was required to work for everybody else, the community, rather than for themselves as individuals or family. Did William Bradford’s company live happily ever after in their socialist utopia? The answer is no. The Plymouth colony could not lift themselves out of the dire poverty and starvation. The “common property” approach took the lives of half the settlers. Governor Bradford recorded in his diary that everyone was happy to claim their share in the harvests and production, but production shrank. In other words, the produce that was brought into the storehouses continued to decrease. In this instance, there were shirkers and slackers who would show up late while the hard workers began to resent them. Contempt and resentment grew and production declined.  

The disincentives of the socialist scheme bred starvation, destitution, and conflict until Bradford altered the system and divided up the land and gave each family a one-acre plot to do with as they wished. The new owners produced whatever they desired and then kept or traded freely with others. The result was a tremendous increase in prosperity.

As our nation’s students are seeking learning from the various schools, public and private, they are susceptible to the ubiquitous notion that socialism is the answer to our problem of poverty. Where will they find other solutions to the problem? Almost nowhere in our present homogenous system will they find the right answers. Socialism is a trendy fascination right now. Sharing the wealth with everyone and having everything in common looks desirable, and yet it is one of the most dangerous ideas. We do not have to go far into our past to see that socialism created oblivion and devastation in Russia and China. No, the answer lies further in our past, in the story of William Bradford and later in the Founding Father’s writings. Can there be any doubt in anyone’s mind after studying the history of these United States that private property and laws protecting it have created the vast wealth?

I believe it was divine intervention that motivated them to adopted a very different system which was the birth of the most powerful economic system, a system I would call the abundance miracle. At this time of thanksgiving, I lift my prayer of deep gratitude to the Lord for private property and the knowledge of natural rights, natural laws that protect it, and also sincere gratitude for the profit motive that has made abundance possible.

Life Is Like a Tree

This essay is still under construction, read at your own risk:

As I was raking the leaves today I became overwhelmed with the number of leaves to clean up with 7 maple trees in our yard, 6 in the back and 1 huge Red Maple in front, the striking kind that makes everyone look. The kind that makes everyone wish they lived on that particular street in the fall. 

Our trees drop a mess in May, a mess in June and a huge mess in November. The tree in front must be a female tree because it produces little red flowers before any leaves begin to sprout. Looking up into the tree with the clear blue sky as the backdrop, you see clusters of tiny red berries and suddenly they burst into tiny red flowers, dropping as soon as the samaras begin to grow. Remember those things that children call ‘helicopters’ that fly out of the maple trees in late spring? Well, they are officially called the samaras and were super fun to play with as a child. Back to the messes. I spend a good couple of days raking up and sweeping the dead flower clusters in May and just when school lets out and our summer gets going, there is another big drop of helicopters (samaras) in June and another thorough sweeping is required. But be prepared for the fall when we have to fill twenty-plus big black bags with the dead leaves. And it is not a one day process. 

This year, in particular, the cold happened early on for a day or two and then it warmed up for a month. Once again, the front tree was spectacular. Friends and neighbors sent texts and emails, even photos of our tree complimenting how impressive and beautiful it was. Even perfect strangers talk about that incredible tree on 900 East and proudly I claim it and instantly I become famous. Okay, that is slight hyperbole, but seriously, the tree is magnificently conspicuous. 

Unfortunately, I was unable to enjoy the fiery show of my Red Maple this year as I was in another state with my oldest daughter and her family for a couple of weeks while she had her fifth baby and my seventh grandchild. However, like clockwork, I received texts and comments about my beautiful tree. When I arrived home, the tree was covered with almost all of its leaves still, but they had begun to turn from the flaming red to a reddish-brown indicating the leaves would soon drop. I waited to rake the few that had already fallen since others would soon join them and I could get more in one sitting, but the days were warm and the wind was absent causing the leaves to cling onto the branches. Hannah and I made our way outside to rake what had been there on the ground, thinking that soon the others would fall and we would bag them up before the cold and wind came. However grand the plan, there is always another Planner who knows more than we do. Nature whipped up a wind storm during the night last week and loosened the grip of most of our leaves and swept them into the yards of all my close neighbors. I woke with a dread that we had deliberately “shared” the work of gathering to all my dear friends. Ugh, would I need to go rake everyone’s yard? The dreaded mess in everyone’s yard overwhelmed me and I choked on it for a while until I wondered whether it was not my fault or not. I reasoned that I had done all that I could possibly do and that it was surely the work of Mother Nature. Everyone would understand, right? Besides, the wind continued to blow and so the leaves would continue to migrate into other yards more distant. Back and forth I went in my mind, but there has to come a time when you realize that you just cannot control things that you have no control over, therefore I decided I would pick up only the leaves on my property currently and let the rest of my neighbors deal with those that mother nature had so carelessly planted in their yards.

I figuratively rolled up my sleeves and began to rake what was left in my yard, driveway, and gutter. Dave came out to help and we raked, gathered, and bagged for at least two hours. Most of the leaves were in the back yard where 6 tall maple trees reside. It seemed as though we were not making much of a dent while the clocked ticked on. The weather app said that snow would come each day next week starting on Monday and today was Saturday. We estimated that a foot of snow would fall over a 6 day period. We had limited time before having to head into town for a reception and became conscious that we would not finish in time before the snow covered the rest. 

My mind had been pondering on the overwhelming messiness of the leaves, the wind, the work to clean up, the effort of being responsible owners, and all the emotion and reason that accompanies it. I compared all this to life and how life is messy too. And it matters a great deal if I deal with the mess in a responsible manner; cleaning up, fixing, bagging and disposing of the mess of mortality in a moral and ethical manner. 

I thought of a loved one who has intentionally left the faith of his childhood and dragged his children with him through the messy process of a faith crisis. His actions have pulled him away from everything he has held dear and he is left alone with himself and his buddies who support him. He has willfully and deliberately sought to influence any and all to join his crisis campaign in an attempt to justify and validate his actions and beliefs. For three years I have been watching the wind blow him and his children around. Each has lost the connection to their branches—their anchor against the storms—and are willfully living in a whirlwind of falsehoods, deceit, dishonesty, unfaithfulness, and deceptiveness. Just as the wind blew my leaves in all directions and into the yards of my neighbors, his actions have affected everyone around him in a tremendous way. His irresponsibility has blinded him to the mess and has enshrouded him with false comfort and well-being while his children are on the path of self-destruction.

How do you stop people from doing stupid things? How do you help them see what they are blind to? How do you talk to them? What could he have done differently to not have fallen into the trap of the Destroyer? What could I have done differently? My head is churning, my heart is burning, I go back and forth in my mind whether there is something I can do or not. There is not. These things are the “leaves that have blown into another’s yard” and are not mine to clean up. I can only clean myself up. I can only be responsible to make my life clean and pure. I can bag up the baggage and throw it away leaving only the best me; handing over my natural self and making my will God’s will. And in that manner, I will be divinely empowered to clean up any mess my life or the life of others produce. 

As C. S. Lewis says, 

‘Give me all. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work. I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. I don’t want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.’ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity