Of Cowards And Heroes

American folklore and culture is full of proverbs and other wise sayings. I’m not talking about Biblical Proverbs but wise sayings that use interesting word pictures to communicate a message. I love quoting them when I’m asked for advice…or even if I'm not asked. 

Last week I wrote about Ben Franklin’s proverb about vinegar and honey. This week I heard someone say “It’s better to be a live coward than a dead hero.”  I disagree. Nothing inspiring has ever been done by someone afraid of failure. It is such a small way to live.  As Patrick Henry, the famous statesmen once said, “Give me liberty or give me death!”  I feel sure the late Statesmen would’ve been appalled at a proverb calling us to cowardice.  Likewise, no one has ever said “I was so inspired by your refusal to act.” Or “I’m so proud I stood by and did nothing!” What would we think of Victoria Soto,  the teacher at Sandy Hook, who died shielding her students, if instead she had climbed out of a window to save herself and left her students inside to face the gunman?

So what about “Better safe than sorry”, “ Make love not war”, “Time heals all wounds”, "He who hesitates is lost” or “ If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Are these good proverbs? Are they right sometimes and wrong other times?

Is caffeine bad for you?

Do you get tired of the conflicting health headlines? Are you suspicious of the claims of health potions energy drinks, diet pills and cure-alls? Is it all lies and half-truths or are they telling it straight? It’s too bad there’s not an easy answer. Here’s a video I found on TED.com that shed’s some interesting light on this subject. It’s well worth the 12 min it takes to watch.

http://www.ted.com/talks/molly_crockett_beware_neuro_bunk.html

You can find Dr. Crockett's profile and credentials by copying and pasting the following link in your browser. 

http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/directory/profile.php?mc536

How To Argue and Win

Perhaps you’ve heard it said that Politics and Religion should not be discussed.  I personally have decided to stop listening to political talk shows. Both sides, conservative and liberal, have a really hard time remaining civil. In nearly every political discussion in the media there is one or more of the following: name calling, accusing the other side of heinous motives, yelling, interrupting each other, attempting to monopolize the conversation, etc. Politicians themselves are guilty of such things. During election campaigns we call it “mudslinging”. This often includes subtle and not so subtle twisting of the truth.

Religious discussions are often just as ugly. Christian people often get very angry with each other over pretty minor details. There are literally hundreds of Christian denominations in the United States. These divisions are created and maintained because we can’t worship with people we believe are wrong. Some denominations refuse to let pastors ordained in other denominations to speak in their churches. Some will not observe the Sacred Rite of Communion with those who do not agree with them in nearly every detail. It is not uncommon to hear people verbally look down their nose at fellow Christians with whom they disagree. We Christians are a pretty dogmatic bunch and we’re fond of declaring “we can’t both be right”. We fail to recognize that we could indeed both be wrong.

              

           In all our religious and political huffing and puffing I fear we fail to change anyone’s mind. As Ben Franklin famously said “A spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of vinegar.”  We would do well to apply the wisdom of this statement in all our attempts to convince. And don’t forget the words of King Solomon, “A soft answer turns away wrath.”