Sunday Morning with a Fire Going

19 January 2020

As I sit down to write this it is 9:05.  Already been out to the tarp covered pile to pick up some dry wood.  Since Friday six inches of snow has fallen here in Michigan.  If the NWS is to be trusted we should get 1 to 2 inches more of powdery snow today.  As the day goes on the temperature will drop precipitously.  Thus, keeping a fire in the wood stove makes sense. Part of the getting a fire thing going involved putting water in the cast iron bear on top of the cook surface to humidify the room. No task comes without an antecedent or a corollary task.  You don’t wash clothing without sorting and adding detergent.  You don’t build a fire without kindling and filling the bear with water.

The boys had the nerd squad over last night.  There was a major role playing game using Star Wars manuals that went on for several hours.  Six young adults crowed themselves in (and me out) of the living room. My wife offered up chicken chili and chips. The nerds brought numerous two liter bottles of pop to the event.  At the end of the gathering’s role playing game, my wife went down and joined them. At that point they played some game that combines smart phones and the interactive function of the TV.  Most of the answers are obscene but hilarious. Me, I stayed upstairs watching a Netflix series involving a Yakuza in London, which had I kid you not an incredible dance sequence.  

When I had finished watching the series, and while the hilarity ensued downstairs, I pulled up an e-book and continued to read up on moral philosophy. At this moment I am in the section where the author is detailing the failings of a zeitgeist focused on the individual.  He argues that isolation, lack of personal context, lack of guidance and hollow achievement are some of the issues that confront a person in a world where the motto is “Do what feels good to you, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else”.

His seems to be doubling down on his assertions that we need a more communal focus.  An individual in a totally rule free environment is lost.  The example he gives is that when someone graduates from college they are told go out and achieve, don’t be afraid to fail and be self reliant.  What we do’t tell them is there is power in building a network of friends and colleagues, think of the consequences of your actions and consider what you are doing as it impacts others.

He hasn’t gotten there yet but I am sure there will be a section that addresses the issue of rights and responsibilities. (Took a break here to tend to the fire.  Getting things going in the morning sometimes takes a little more energy and effort than others).  What I mean is I expect that there will be a section that says for every right we have there is an equally important responsibility.  For every freedom we hold dear, we have an obligation.  Personally I have been on board with these statements for a long time.  No freedom is absolute, the whole you can’t scream fire in a crowded theatre without consequences to yourself thing. No right or privilege comes without the obligation that you should use it wisely and responsibly.  I will let you know if the writer goes there or not.