Dangerous Weapons

I have refrained from weighing in on the gun control issue up to this point, but I can wait no longer. It is high time we got dangerous weapons off the street. Last June a 63-year-old woman in Lima, OH, plowed her car into a crowd hurting thirty people. Some news sources claim it was an accident. In September an angry Houston man drove his vehicle into a crowd outside a sports bar. Given the fact that he backed up and hit one woman a second time, one may suppose that his behavior was deliberate. In August last year a man in Los Angeles ran over eleven people at an elementary school including nine children. Clearly, motor vehicles were created for the sole purpose of killing and maiming large numbers of people at a time.

This is not an American problem alone, but an international crisis which must eventually be addressed world-wide. In December in Beijing an angry man rammed his vehicle into a group of students, injuring thirteen. Motor vehicles even make it possible for people to drive while intoxicated. A man was charged last year with killing four and injuring others in an incident in Cleveland when he ran his car into a crowd at a street fair while he was intoxicated. If he had been riding a bicycle, none of this would have happened.

I haven’t even mentioned the thousands of rabbits, squirrels, and possums that are killed or crippled each year by the wanton destruction of these incredible weapons. And these are just a few of the thousands of cases. Just Google “Drive car into crowd” and you’ll see what I mean. The evidence is overwhelming. We must act quickly and soon to eliminate all motor vehicles. And if you think this argument is crazy, just take a look the ones being used by those who wish to void the second amendment and confiscate all firearms from the millions of quiet, law-abiding citizens who own firearms for sport or self-defense. Let’s look for real answers to the problem of violence in our society.

More Secrets

Consider, too, the words of John Ruskin the tendency of wise authors to have a depth that rewards reflection and effort:

And be sure also, if the author is worth anything, that you will not get at his meaning all at once; –nay, that at his whole meaning you will not for a long time arrive in any wise. (John Ruskin’s Sesame and Lilies (Silver Series of English and American Classics. Reprint: NY: Silver, Burdett, and Company, 1900))

Seeking Secrets

I ran across a video by The Piano Guys the other day (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ_fkw5j-t0) which had a quotation by Beethoven. I tracked down the original and though it was written to a young musician named Emilie in 1812, it is just as relevant for those in the martial arts today:

Fahre fort, übe nicht allein die Kunst, sondern dringe auch in ihr Inneres; sie verdient es. (Ludwig van Beethovens sämtliche Briefe und Auszeichnungen, p. 187)

Continue. Don’t just practice your art, but penetrate into its inner secrets; it deserves it. [Translation, FWIW, is mine.]

Those who begin a martial art seeking “the secret” to becoming an invincible fighter will be disappointed. Those who pursue their martial art will find dozens of “secrets”–insights not apparent at first, insights about balance, about grace, about life. Scripture is a lot like that too. While there is much to learn even at first glance, the greatest scholars cannot plumb all the depths of God’s Word and studying the Bible is a life-long pursuit.

Spring Thing

It seems that spring has begun here in our area. I’ve been hearing killdeers and red wing blackbirds for a couple weeks. I’ve seen robins this week. Willows and poplars are beginning to bud. But the surest sign I know? I found colt’s foot blooming on my walk today. Forget the calendar. Spring has begun!