Let me drop a few examples, life is full of rules..... in about every aspect of life people feel a need to write rules down: have you ever considered what I am saying? Don't we all know a Karen that has a NO Soliciting sign by her front door......fire a couple of warning shots over their heads and people stop coming to you door......trust me.
Every road has a speed limit sign, and often on the edge of town they take the time to name the speed limit on every street that doesn't have it's own sign.....
Enter any building and you are greeted by rules, "no shirt, no shoes, no service" or my personal favorite, "no concealed weapons"..... did you know if you don't see the sign it doesn't count? That is true, so when ever I notice one of those signs (and you know I have a gun) I assume I am on camera and I make a point of look away from the sign.....so I can later say, "oh, really....I didn't know.....there was a sign.......really?"
Things get really intense when our children begin school...... OMG the rules schools feel the need to post..... Of course every teacher has rules, most often on her chalkboard..... Whoops, I'm old..... on her dry erase board...... Whoops I'm really old, I mean her Smart Board. The point is as the school day happens if anything is important someone writes it on a board.....
Have you ever noticed on television news or political shows they have bullet points on the screen next to the person talking. Those written words give the speaker authority, because.....words have power. I believe with all my heart one of the jobs of parents is to help their children to understand it is ok to question life.... to question what they are told.... to question words.
I have a very powerful memory of being in the 3rd grade and our class was learning about sharks. It was the early 1970's and back then everyone learned that sharks never sleep.....we were told sharks have to constantly keep moving to breath under water. I remember the ride home and my dad asked what we learned in school......with great pride I told him what we learned about sharks. My dad looked at me with that look only a dad can give.....and asked, "......and you believe that crap?"
Dad then went on to explain everything sleeps, he talked about me and him. He mentioned my dog and all the farm animals..... then he pointed to trees and explained they go dormant all winter (thus sleeping). Yes, my dad put forth a very intelligent opinion, so much that I could hardly wait to return to school and basically tell my teacher she was wrong......
When I told the teacher what my dad said her response was one that impacted the rest of my life. She said, "......your dad is a farmer isn't he, did he go to college, did he even finish high school? We are learning about sharks from scientist that write our textbooks, now don't you think they know a little more than your dad?"
In the 1980's in a college biology classroom I listened to a PhD talk about a scientist that only recently discovered sharks do in fact sleep..... Seems dear old dad knew a little bit more about life that the world, you know....the world that tells you to "trust the science."
It so happens that it was at that same college that another PhD tried to make me look dumb (which at times isn't that hard to do). This college teacher was going on about Global Warming, and that people caused the destruction of the world. It was at that point I noted there are more trees in the world today than the world had in 1920....... and if we had more trees today, how is mankind destroying the world.
The PhD then challenged my thought by saying, well..... we may have more trees, but what type of trees are they? He then went on to say we have more pine trees and they don't help the world........ he then said Pine trees don't produce oxygen like other trees do......
Did I ever mention I am an ASS. Please don't all argue with me at one time, I know you are wanting to defend my honor (Hell, I bet my Mother-in-law probably knocked people over rushing forward to say how much she loves me.......) Sadly, it is true..... I am an ASS and challenged at times with ethics.......
On the day of the class final, I arrived early and wrote on the chalkboard in 12 inch letters, "Trees from the Pine family produce 6% more oxygen than all other trees, - Department of Natural Resources.
As people came in, they read the board, remember WORDS have power, nearly every student said something about how great that was to learn and how smart I was...... Then the PhD came in, read the board and said, how shocked he was, then he congratulated me on my knowledge!!!
What I wrote on the board.....complete bullshit. I completely made it up, not just a little.....it was 100% from my "evil side." That PhD has since passed.....as far as I know he went to hell believing Pine trees produce more oxygen than other trees. Of course......all the other students in the class do too. Hey, maybe I'm right. Afterall it is very true I am right about the power of words.
People believe what they read..... For instance, there are people that believe sharks move today because they learned they could get a free meal following slave ships hundreds of years ago. But for some reason they never question how sharks have never learned we no longer have slave ships sailing to America....... Have you heard to story about sharks following ships....did you question it, or just gulp down the knowledge. Let me help, sharks sleep.....and they are not following slave ships......
I'll end today by saying, "Your opinion truly matters to me.....tell me what you think." Did you believe that crap......maybe not all words have power.
