{"id":270,"date":"2007-07-06T19:16:39","date_gmt":"2007-07-06T23:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/?p=270"},"modified":"2007-09-17T06:54:32","modified_gmt":"2007-09-17T10:54:32","slug":"celebration-and-civility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/?p=270","title":{"rendered":"Celebration and Civility"},"content":{"rendered":"

photo-2-small.JPG<\/a>
\nIra looking wise and thoughtful. I like this picture so much that
\nI’m considering it as a permenant heading for each blog.
\n_______________________________________________________________________
\nAs a child growing up in southern Ontario, I remember watching fireworks every year on Victoria Day, which is on a Monday, prior to May 25th. Of course, \u201cwatching fireworks\u201d is a relative term. We watched from our house roof as the celebration unfolded in the town of Aylmer, 6 miles directly to the west. Usually right after the sun had set, while the horizon of the sky was still dull with its glow, the first little orange ball would pop up and explode. Followed by the spectrum of greens, reds and every imaginable shade in between. <\/p>\n

It was a memorable, not like Christmas or your birthday, but memorable, event. A day or two before, one of us boys would happen to see on the calendar that Victoria Day was coming up. Oh, yeah, fire works. As the day ended, we would drag blankets out an upstairs window onto the east porch roof, then hop up to the low-pitched roof of the new section of the house that my father built after the family arrived in Canada in 1953. We’d lie there with our heads propped on our elbows in anticipation. From our vantage point, the little fireballs we cheered and \u201cawwwed\u201d at were about the size of a man\u2019s fist. But it was all we had and it was fun.<\/p>\n

Years later, in the late 80s, I saw my first real fire works up close. My brother Nate and I were traveling, through Missouri somewhere, as I recall. I was in one of my last \u201cAmish\u201d stages, so Nate, poor guy, was doing all the driving. We were passing some small town around sunset, when we heard thunder. Which was strange, because the skies were clear. The highway curved around and suddenly before us erupted a massive explosion of fiery splendor. Fireworks. We gasped. Nate stopped and parked the car beside the highway. Other drivers did the same. And we sat on the car hood and watched the show. I was awestruck. These things were massive and LOUD. In a Eureka moment, it clicked in my mind for the first time that the tiny fireworks we had always watched in Aylmer so many years ago were actually similar in size to those exploding before us. <\/p>\n

Since then, I have watched fireworks up close a number of times, but don\u2019t usually go to such events because of the crowds. It\u2019s always a mess getting out. But for those of you who did, I hope you enjoyed them this year.<\/p>\n

For the first time ever this Independence Day, I watched the Nathan\u2019s Hot Dog eating contest in New York City. It was a midday ESPN event. (Yeah, yeah, I was bored and the weather wasn\u2019t very nice, so save it.) Japanese champion Takeru Kobayoshi, who had won the contest for the last six years straight, was defeated by American Joey Chestnut. Mr. Chestnut ate a new world record 66 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes and brought the championship belt home to the cheers of the roaring crowd. Mr. Kobayoshi ate only 63. Why those guys didn’t explode on the spot is beyond me. The whole thing was surreal and simply unfathomable. And pretty silly, actually.
\n_______________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

And now, as Paul Harvey says, Page Two. A few words about this site. First, I apologize to all readers for the deterioration of civility and respect in some comments posted during the last two weeks. In the heat of the moment, things were said that should not have been. Including some comments from me. They remain posted. To date, I have been very hesitant to interfere with a blog’s natural flow. However, as the editor, it is my responsibility to lay out some clear ground rules. I have not done that, so the blame for any confusion is mine. <\/p>\n

The (new) rules are as follows: Anyone is welcome to comment. Anyone can disagree (and is encouraged to do so, if legit. But don\u2019t disagree just to be contrary.) with anything I write or with anything anyone else posts. But one rule will be stringently enforced in the future. You MUST remain courteous. Write what you want, but write it like you have debated before. Be a gentleman. Or a lady. You can attack IDEAS and trash them all you want. Or a sports team. Or the kind of truck I drive (Personally, I think Fords suck). And so forth. Of course, all politicians, past and present, are fair game for your best shots.<\/p>\n

But if you trash the one you are addressing, what kind of response are you realistically expecting? Consider that for a moment. (Oh, yes. Sorry. I am dumb, stupid, and can\u2019t think through or process anything for myself. Thanks for pointing that out to me on this public forum. I now see it your way.) Come on. We’re all intelligent adults here. If you are serious about getting your point across, act like it. Personal, demeaning attacks (as defined by me) will be deleted from now on. And if anyone persists in such behavior, that person will be asked to cease participating in the conversation (On this site, consider me a Benevolent Dictator). Finally, the person you are addressing or challenging has no obligation whatsoever to respond. <\/p>\n

The issue of race triggered the decline of civility. About that I have a few words as well. I know what prejudice is. I grew up in an Amish family during the 60s and 70s (before the Amish became media darlings). Because we dressed so differently, we were stared at in almost every public place we went. Some of those stares were hostile. At the local sale barn one night, when I was about 12, a young townie tough guy kicked me right in my you-know-whats for no reason, other than I was a little Amish kid. Right in front of his giggling girlfriend. I never told a soul. As a teenager and later as an adult, I was cursed publicly because my people don\u2019t fight in wars. And more than once, while driving my horse and buggy along the highway after dark, redneck thugs hollered and cursed as they roared by in their pickups. Once, they threw a glass beer bottle, which shattered right under my horse\u2019s hooves (fortunately, he was not injured). There were many other instances; these are only some that quickly come to mind. Granted, it was cultural, not racial prejudice\/intimidation. But it was real enough, and I accepted it as just a part of life. And life is not fair. (As a side note, years ago I did try to use my status as a minority of one to get into Harvard and Yale. They didn\u2019t bite. Their loss.)<\/p>\n

In the current atmosphere surrounding racial dialogue, I particularly despise \u201cshibboleth\u201d tests of any kind. I will not engage in such. Because it is never enough. Not for those demanding proof. And certainly not for those who desperately try to prove they are not racist. You can\u2019t disprove a negative (When did you stop beating your wife?). So I just won\u2019t go there. If that\u2019s a problem, that\u2019s too bad. I also believe that anyone who claims to be totally prejudice-free is either sadly misguided or a blatant liar. We all have it somewhere, deep down or not so deep, against something, somebody or some group, because that is the natural condition of the human heart. <\/p>\n

In my opinion (and it\u2019s just my opinion, so restrain yourselves before attacking), Christians and Rednecks bear the brunt of more prejudice than any other two groups in America right now. Once the suicide bombs start in this country (and they will), it will be Muslims, and naturally so. In some circles, the fact that I am white makes me de facto prejudiced. And racist. That\u2019s where we are, and that’s the way it is, as I see it. Of course, I would give up my viewpoint for a better one convincingly presented (as the Amish preachers always said when closing their sermons, but didn’t mean).<\/p>\n

I try to respect every person until or unless that person shows he doesn\u2019t deserve it. That\u2019s pretty basic, but it works for me. True respect takes care of every other issue, including the current much-hyped sensitivity we are all supposed to have. For the more detailed debates, I defer to Fred the Curmudgeon. He has a lot of columns archived on his site. Some of them address race and racial issues. I haven\u2019t read a single one that doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense. <\/p>\n

This has been a strange week. Melancholy is the best word to describe it. Not overly depressing, not deeply sad, just melancholy. <\/p>\n

melancholy3-small.jpg<\/a>
\n\u201cAll changes……have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.\u201d
\n—Anatole France <\/p>\n

And how was your week?<\/p>\n

YOU ARE WELCOME TO POST A COMMENT ON THE LINK ON THIS PAGE ONLY.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ira looking wise and thoughtful. I like this picture so much that I’m considering it as a permenant heading for each blog. _______________________________________________________________________ As a child growing up in southern Ontario, I remember watching fireworks every year on Victoria Day, which is on a Monday, prior to May 25th. Of course, \u201cwatching fireworks\u201d is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}