Song of the Day: Bob Dylan, My Back Pages

My Back Pages by Bob Dylan

Pure genius.

Lyrics:

Crimson flames tied through my ears
Rollin' high and mighty traps
Pounced with fire on flaming roads
Using ideas as my maps
"We'll meet on edges, soon," said I
Proud 'neath heated brow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.

Half-cracked prejudice leaped forth
"Rip down all hate," I screamed
Lies that life is black and white
Spoke from my skull, I dreamed
Romantic facts of musketeers
Foundationed deep, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.

Girls' faces formed the forward path
From phony jealousy
To memorizing politics
Of ancient history
Flung down by corpse evangelists
Unthought of, thought, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.

A self-ordained professor's tongue
Too serious to fool
Spouted out that liberty
Is just equality in school
"Equality," I spoke the word
As if a wedding vow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.

In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand
At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not that I'd become my enemy
In the instant that I preach
My existence led by confusion boats
Mutiny from stern to bow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.

Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats
Too noble to neglect
Deceived me into thinking
I had something to protect
Good and bad, I define these terms
Quite clear, no doubt, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.

Heaven knows I'm confused now

The idea of heaven (or paradise) sounds so...heavenly. And yet when I think about it, it doesn't make a lot of sense.

The idea of heaven implies a place where there is nothing but happiness. So to me, that means that I will be among the friends and family that I love. I don't think I can be happy all the time if I'm always on my own. Certainly when I have gone to Christian funerals, the implication has been that we're going to see the deceased person in heaven. On the other hand, there are some things about friends and family that I find annoying at times (and vice versa I'm sure). I mean, nobody is perfect, after all. So - if these people are going to be in my heaven making me happy, then at some point I am going to find myself annoyed by them! That contradicts the idea of heaven, because if I'm annoyed how can I be in heaven after all?

One solution could be to remove all annoying qualities from my friends and family before they get to heaven. That would work for me. But, altering their personalities in that way would probably not make them happy. Turning the tables, would I want my own ornery personality to be changed by some divine process to please my friends? Not a chance. So my conclusion is that we are all going to be unhappy at some point whilst in heaven. The only alternative is for a person to be alone in heaven. But is it possible to be happy and be completely alone, for eternity? And doesn't that contradict what we have been told about re-joining our deceased friends and relatives?

Self-Discipline is Overrated (Alfie Kohn)

I am a poster child for high grades and honestly I don't think I'm all that creative, so maybe he has something here! Here's the article:

http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/selfdiscipline.htm#MM

Reasons to be Cheerful

Cheer up - just because growth in the USA was paltry over the past 10 years doesn't mean we can't benefit from growth in other countries! See the article, below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/business/economy/03view.html