Warning: Extensive Quoting About Wikipedia

Wikipedia. That word alone may stir up various thoughts. During my years as a public school teacher who insisted on assigning research, I spoke negatively about Wikipedia. After all, this service allows readers to edit and even submit encyclopedia entries. If you want, you could visit Wikipedia right now and alter written history to state that Brutus stabbed Abraham Lincoln in 1957, when Lincoln exclaimed, "Golly! Ain't that a sumbitch!" I wouldn't recommend it.

Recently my opinion has begun to change, but only in recognizing the limitations of a service such as Wikipedia. (Here comes the quoting.) In his book The Long Tail, Chris Anderson writes extensively about the joining of the professional and amateur worlds, stating that this marriage is beneficial to the consumer and society as a whole. About Wikipedia, Anderson writes, "Much is made of the fact that Wikipedia's entries are 'non-authoritative,' which is a way of saying they're not invariably accurate...Unlike [Encyclopedia] Britannica, where each entry is scrubbed, checked, and labored over by responsible professionals, each Wikipedia entry simply arrives, conjured from the vacuum by the miracle of the 'Edit This Page' button" (67). As with the Lincoln assassination example above.

Anderson goes on to discuss "probabilistic statistics," the idea of likelihood rather than certainty. He says that Wikipedia, on a large scale, is successful, even mentioning that "...[A] 2005 study by Nature, the scientific journal, reported that in forty-two entries on science topics there were an average of four errors per entry in Wikipedia and three in Britannica" (69).

The benefit of Wikipedia, Anderson continues, is that it is like a living organism in that it continues to grow, change, and shift with its users. The converse is that Britannica is static, at least until the next edition is ready for print. In a section entitled "The Power of Peer Production," Anderson notes, "One study by IBM found that the mean repair time for damage in high-profile Wikipedia entries such as 'Islam' is less than four minutes" (70).

I have changed, though not overhauled, my opinion about Wikipedia. I can, and do, use it, but not as the final word on any given subject...because I'm fairly sure Lincoln wasn't stabbed.

Speech is More Than an MC

Not too long ago I was invited by some former students to give a speech for the National Honor Society where I used to teach. Though I've tried, I still believe I have failed to accurately and honestly express the honor and gratitude that this invitation induced.

I won't delve into the hours I spent mulling an appropriate and effective topic, the time I considered the best delivery. I chose to speak honestly. I have included here the text on which my speech was based. Long ago I decided that I would teach and speak from notes rather than verbatim text, as this leaves freedom to explore other avenues and to present more conversationally. The text provided below omits a point about expressing appreciation (which I will revisit in another blog post). In that section I spoke a bit about my friend and mentor, Matt. You can read a bit of his story here: Matt's Updates.

Here's the text:

First, let me congratulate the new inductees. I would welcome you to the National Honor Society, but I was denied induction. I would also like to thank you for the honor of addressing you this evening. When Mrs. S______ extended your invitation to speak you tonight, I wanted to be sure I had something to say, something to offer you that might differ from the speeches you’ve heard in this setting.

You’ve heard enough speeches about setting goals and achieving results. You’re obviously capable of achievement, or you wouldn’t have been selected to join the National Honor Society (NHS). When you set aside results and stop focusing solely on attaining an objective, you have your life. Even recently some of you have expressed to me your worry regarding graduation, exams, scholarship and college applications. If you don’t slow down, you’ll miss your last year or two of high school. Take a breath, and enjoy the journey.

About a month ago, Santa Claus stopped by my house and dropped a new CD down my chimney. It’s by a guy named Tom T. Hall, a country singer who wrote and recorded many songs for children. It’s an important record in the B____ family because my maternal grandfather played these songs for us when I was a kid. In fact, my sisters and I did improvisational karaoke of a couple TTH songs at my wedding reception. As I listened to these songs this Christmas, one called “I Love” stayed with me a little more than before. The song is primarily a list of things TTH (or the narrator) loves: “little baby ducks, old pick-up trucks, slow-moving trains, and rain”; “leaves in the wind, pictures of my friends, birds of the world, and squirrels.” And each verse ends with the sweet, “And I love you, too.” It’s a nice thought, reflecting on the things in the world that you love, that make you happy. (Those of you who read the uplifting Our Town in my class will recognize this exercise.) But one line from the last verse hangs with me more than the others: “I love honest open smiles, kisses from a child, tomatoes on the vine and onions.” And onions?! There are a couple levels to my appreciation of this line, the least of which is that I detest tomatoes on the vine and onions. It’s great that TTH is voicing his love for fresh vegetables, but what rhymes with onions? The following end word is “life,” which doesn’t even sorta rhyme with onions. So I like this. I like that TTH takes a break from his established pattern (or rhyme scheme for you poetry fans). This is a song that has brought, and continues to bring, great joy to me. In addition to being a cute little tune, it was one that we played over and over when my grandfather died. Please, in the midst of your stress, take a moment to consider little things that bring you joy.

Finally, several of you have inquired what I’ve been doing now that I’m not teaching. The answers vary—taking care of my wife and two children, writing, learning to play blues guitar, entering a cooking contest, reading linguistic studies. Yeah, reading linguistic studies, which would be true even if I were not here tonight. One I read recently deals with emotional words in the English language. Using the methodology of word recognition, researchers questioned native-English-speaking adults. The results were that the average native English-speaking adult has an emotional vocabulary consisting of 50% negative words, 30% positive, and 20% neutral. No wonder some of the greatest poetry is so awfully depressing! The lesson here, other than to expand your vocabulary, is one from Kurt Vonnegut. In his final published work—A Man Without a Country—Vonnegut writes about an uncle who felt man’s greatest problem was that he never recognized when he was truly happy. He sets a scene of some family members sitting on the front porch on a summer night, sipping lemonade. Vonnegut’s uncle exclaims, “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.” So I join Kurt Vonnegut in urging you “to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”

The Pen is Flightier

Do you like me? Check one:
_____Yes _____No

Things are so much simpler in writing, right? In our world of instant messages, email, text messaging, and such, we're able to communicate with (in this case) millions of people at lightning speed, potentially without ever laying eyes on another human being. And that's great, isn't it?

Let's revisit that junior high school note. I wrote a few of those in my time, with varying degrees of success. Other than emotional immaturity (compounded by fear of rejection and minimal self-confidence), there's further reason that notes like this are generate: It's much easier to hide behind the written word than have a face-to-face conversation.

My aunt has taught high school social studies and coached girls' golf for more than twenty years and has countless stories regarding this topic. Recently she told me about a girl who played on her golf team. At the end of the season, after reviewing the criteria for earning a varsity letter, my aunt noticed that a few girls had not earned the accolade. One girl's mother felt the need to write a four-page email to my aunt, describing the ways this "travesty" (yes, she wrote "travesty") would negatively affect her daughter for years to come. It was, according to this mother, embarrassing for her daughter not to receive the award despite not having achieved the necessary criteria to do so. My aunt placed a call to the girl's mother, hoping to explain her stance (which was supported by her school administration as well as the athletic director). When no one answered the call, my aunt left a message explaining the criteria and offering to meet with the woman if she so desired. The next day, another email from this woman, offering further complaints and threats of writing a letter for the local paper. At this point, my aunt realized she would meet with little success, so she forwarded this email to the athletic director, adding that she wished for him to deal with further interactions, which is what happened.

This mother is clearly afraid of personal interaction. She would rather hide behind a computer screen than speak to someone in person.

I had a recent conversation with another young woman about this, and she stated that when topics are more serious, she prefers email interaction over phone calls or face-to-face meetings. She continued by adding that typed or written responses give her more confidence in what she has to say, the opportunity to think more before responding. I stated that I felt this form of communication is less truthful, that an honest conversation with another human being should include body language, gestures, at least the sound of another voice. By the way, this "conversation" was initiated on AIM.

So what do you think? Have we become a society dependent too much on the written word? Have we forgotten how to communicate personally?

In the Name of Love?

About five years ago my father was on a church committee, conducting a search for a new senior pastor. He generally kept me abreast of the process, any progress, or lack thereof. As the committee began formulating questions for potential candidates, my father shared an interesting one with me: If you could rid mankind of any single sin, what would it be?

While you consider that question (and perhaps even whether or not you believe in sin...I suggest you should, but more on that another time), I'll mention this entry's photograph. For several years I was a public school teacher, and during the end of my most recent tour of duty, I decided to start collecting eyeballs, with the express purpose of possibly using them here. Above you'll find an interesting specimen: The ubiquitous teenage male. This one possesses above average intelligence. (By the way, he's most likely going to read this entry and maybe even post a comment...so I'll avoid libel and/or slander at all cost.) But this one fits a preexisting mold. I mention his intellectual ability because it was (and surely remains) a source of pride for this young man. He regularly spoke what many would call "trash talk" about his computer skills, the lack of effort he put into maintaining excellent grades, his athletic prowess, and even his love life. Here was a prideful individual.*

The Black Keys (a band from Akron, Ohio), their song "Just Got to Be," sing a little about this:

When it comes to pride
And other sinful matters
You're gonna be misled
Let feeling tattered...

...Evil hides
In dark places
But now I find it
In familiar faces...

My answer to the question: Pride. And Thomas Aquinas agreed when he wrote that pride is "inordinate self-love...the cause of every sin."

What would happen without pride? (By the way, of course I'm referring to Thomas Aquinas's description, not the way you ought to have some pride in yourself...or a pride of lions, for that matter.) Look at the fallout:

• Eradication of competition. Many people (myself included) enjoy good, clean competition. But without that competition, one would not be permitted to boast.
• Without competition, the nature of business would change. In fact, I would venture to say that business would begin to focus more on service.
• Politics. I've always thought that anyone running for an elected office must be incredibly prideful. To refer again to The Catcher in the Rye, there's a section where Holden Caulfield discusses his lack of interest in becoming a lawyer, like his father. He says that he would only be the kind of lawyer that helps people. But how would he know if he was helping people so others would see him as a great, humble individual? Indeed. But without pride, we would, gratefully, no longer endure political campaigns.
• War. Gone. Even wars that stem from patriotism are based on pride.

Our culture encourages us to focus on the way we do things. While our minds tell us that to "look out for number one" is selfish, how many of do something other than that? Truly. The things we do, however, the choices we make, gravely affect other people, but that rarely changes our actions. In fact, most of the time we ignore other people in order to please ourselves.

I don't have the answer. In reality I know that the most prideful of hearts is my own. All too often I get caught up in my own desires, creating unnecessary conflict. While I would like to think of myself as unselfish, mostly I'm self-deluded. Another of my favorite bands is the Vigilantes of Love, sing about selfishness and pride in "Black Crow" (You can buy the record here).

"Thought I killed the sin of pride...a hundred rounds I must of spent
Now everywhere I turn my eyes I'm all over the pavement.
It whispers from the furnace, offers a disclaimer
Justifies the falsehood and leaves you the remainder."

So pride enables us to be self-deluded, self-interested beings. I hate when I discover the root of my selfishness. It's too hard and painful to dig up.

"There ain't no goin' back when your foot of pride comes down,
Ain't no goin' back."

*Note: In all reality, this young man generally has a good head on his shoulders, and I always saw his arrogant posturing for what he intended--sarcasm, tool for the insecure, and a good topic for a future post.

Innocence Lost

I've wondered this before; I'll wonder it again. When does it happen that we stop being innocent and start looking at the world for what it is? One moment we're making garbage bag balls, filling Hefty bags with crumpled newspaper, kicking them around the front yard. Next time someone looks, we're playing cops and robbers, "shooting" one another. When does that shift happen?

Of course it's a revisiting of a previous theme, but one I'll never tire of.

American Dogs

I love my dog. In fact, here he is:


It's imperative that I open with that because I don't want you to misunderstand anything here.

In addition to being a dog-lover, I also like sports. For those of you within throwing distance of a television, radio, computer, or fellow human being can probably foresee where I'm going. Not long ago, a professional football player named Michael Vick was indicted on federal charges of being associated with (if not being the ringleader of) a dogfighting operation. (By the way, he recently pleaded "Not Guilty.") I won't go through all the trouble of recounting the horrors of which Vick is being accused, but they are inhumane at the very least. And as a fan of my dear ol' four-legged friend and his ilk, I am troubled by this. America, however, is seething.

PETA is regularly picketing the NFL headquarters in New York City; the ASPCA has an FAQ on their site regarding dogfighting; the Humane Society of the U.S. also mentions dogfighting and has posted stories of rehabilitated canines. A brief web search brings up countless blogs saying Vick should be fired from the NFL, thrown in prison for the rest of his life, fed to dogs, and other unmentionable acts. Hey, I'm furious with the guy, too. So I start thinking about ways people treat their dogs.

A few more moments wasted online brings up a plethora of ways to pamper your dog. My (least) favorites include PetCarriers, Pampered Puppy, and the Lang Institute. I was at a suburban shopping mall recently, one in middle America, where metropolitanism hits a few years after either coast. And there was a woman, maybe twenty years old, heading up a department store escalator, with her chihuahua in what I thought was a purse. Okay, so perhaps she was concerned about the dog chewing her wires at home or pooping in the back of her mother's Oldsmobile. And when I took my dog to obedience school, the instructor regularly made mention of the benefits of massage and aroma therapy...for the dog. Americans love their dogs.

So now what, Mr. Eyeball? Well, a television personality in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was recently fired over these comments regarding Michael Vick. And that bugs me. But not because of the callousness with which the gentleman made the remarks. Paul Zeise may have been exaggerating, but he's not too far off the mark.

While America is on a collective rampage about Michael Vick, we have forgotten about more pressing issues: Poverty, Homelessness, Domestic Violence, Violence Against Women, and these sites devoted to ending child abuse: No Excuse, Kids First Fund, and ChildAbuse.org. Include with that list many other global organizations that help people in need. We care about the violence done to our pets, but overlook the violence done to one another.

We shouldn't stop caring that dogfighting continues to happen because it's an atrocious, horrifying pastime for some, one that I'm please to have never witnessed. I hope that as Americans, as human beings, we begin to re-recognize the sanctity of human life, that be place more value on humanity. Let's not treat our dogs with more dignity than we treat our homeless, poverty-stricken, and hungry.

Waning Imagination

When we're kids we have amazing imaginations. Every moment of our lives is filled with creativity. I remember kindergarten recess when my friend, Eddie, shouted to me from the monkey bars, "Hey, look at this." He then held up the "OK" sign: To which I replied, "The Eye." (Now you see the connection to the blog, right?) This continued to evolve into a game we played for years, at least until we went to middle school, where we were much too cool to play "The Eye." But the point is, as six year old, we took something rather mundane and created an odd universe, making up rules and characters on the fly.

Later in elementary school my teacher read the poem "The Spangled Pandemonium" by Palmer Brown. One of our tasks was to draw a picture of the spangled pandemonium. What were its features? Long fangs? Claws? What about its hide? Was it furry? Rough? Did it have paws or fins? And what color was it? If I still had my creation, I'd post it here now. But take a moment, read that poem, get out your crayons, and draw a spangled pandemonium. Done? Now get an eight year old to do the same thing. Which one's more realistic? I guess that depends on your state of mind as well as the kid, but perhaps you get my point. Do the same thing with MadLibs, but keep it clean if kids are around.

Kids also create words and phrases, usually based on sound. I recently read a book about trucks to a child I know. When we came to the page with the pickup truck, he said, "Pickup truck? It should be a hiccup truck." That's just silly and definitely not something I would have generated on my own. Another child I know recently coined the phrase "Slop choppy." When asked what this means, he replied, "It means when you have to go the bathroom a lot. You get slop choppy."

So what happens to our imagination? Where have they gone? I won't offer a pacifist view (like Pete Seeger in "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?") But I will pin it on growing older.

I've spent the majority of my adult years working with teenagers, who are notorious for becoming jaded starting shortly before their age ends in "teen." In fact, I've forced many of them to read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. For those of you who have forgotten the book, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is generally antsy about growing up. In fact, during a telling conversation with his younger sister, HC comments that all he really wants to be is the "Catcher in the Rye," a guy who stands at the edge of a cliff and keeps kids from falling to their doom. Upon further examination, the metaphor is clear: Holden wants to protect children from the cruelties of the adult world. I haven't lost you, have I?

But that's what happens to us. As we age, we see the ugliness of the world around us, that the recent bumper sticker is right: Mean People Suck. Yet we realize that, in fact, lots of people are mean. So we protect ourselves from this meanness by stifling our silliness, our creativity, our fun mode. Most adults look at creativity (and serious art, for that matter) as frivolous, like we don't have time for these things because we have to work, pay taxes, choose the right cell phone (and plan), mow the lawn, hire a pool guy, wax the car, buy a new car, watch television, check our email, keep up with which celebrity is marrying/divorcing/going to prison/having whose baby/smoking whose crack, et cetera, et cetera. The average American clings to and cares about celebrities in order to forget about these same realities. Speaking of which, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Goose Gossage recently said about America's obsession with celebrities' lives, "Get a life, America." (I love Goose...and his mustache.)

And so I implore you, dear reader, to reacquaint yourself with your imagination. Perhaps this is what Bob Dylan meant when he wrote "Forever Young."

"May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung...
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
And may you stay forever young."