Stop! Stop! Stop!
This will not work.
I cannot do this episode if I don’t have my book.
I spent a good portion of the day looking through my bookshelves and old boxes stored in closets and the garage in search of my book.
One specific book.
I know I have it.
I can remember seeing it last year some time.
I just don’t remember where I saw it.
Now I haven’t gone down into the crawlspace underneath the house yet, but I may be forced to take that unpleasant trip if my search continues to be unproductive.
I know I have the book.
I've had it for years.
Decades in fact.Where is it?I suppose I could go to a used bookstore and see if they have one, but used bookstores are hard to find in today's world. It's not at all like the good old days I remember when I roamed through the aisles of used bookstores with thousands and thousands of books on the dusty shelves.Where is my book?
I need it.Wait.
Could it be?
Is it possible?
Surely …There it is!
I found it!
It wasn’t lost.
It’s right there!
Celebration time!
My book is still in existence and …
Super celebration time!!
I didn’t have to go into the crawlspace.
Okay, now I’m ready.
Mark, let’s do the intro again.
That’s enough. Thanks, Mark.
Today’s Episode is “A rose by any other name.”
ME THINKS SHAKESPEARE DOTH SPEAK
A little over 400 years ago, a white guy wrote a play that was very popular in it’s day. Through the years, decades, and centuries it continued to be popular. In fact, the play is still performed today.
Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare in the 1590’s, tells the story of two young lovers — you may be able to guess their names — who are prevented from getting together because of the hatred between their families.
In Act 2, Scene 2, Juliet bemoans the situation by saying, “What’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; so Romeo would, were he not Romeo called.”
The point being that what someone is called doesn’t change what they really are.
It’s a good observation.
Examples
Let me give you a couple of examples.
There are some roses in my yard. They are very pretty.
Suppose I walked up to those roses and stated right to its petals, “You are a pile of dog poop!”
Not only don’t I listen to the roses protestations, or to their fellow flowers who take offense at my description, but I double down and say again, “You are a pile of dog poop!”
I encourage you to try this yourself.
If you don’t have roses in your yard, go to the the flower section of your local supermarket and tell a bunch of roses, “You are a pile of dog poop!”
You might want to look around before you say it, however. Some shoppers might think you have some serious issues.
Then gather up some of those roses, take them home, place them in a vase, and set the vase on your dining room table. What you called a pile of dog poop will look like roses. If you were to lean close and smell them, they would smell like roses.
It doesn’t matter what you call them. They still look and smell like roses because … they are roses.
Or, as Juliet says in the play, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
Let me give you another example.
Suppose a dog walker didn’t do their job and pick up after their canine. When you came outside you found a pile of dog poop on your front yard.
I want you to go up to that pile of dog poop, lean down close, and tell it loud and clear, “You are a rose!”
If you decide you must test this out yourself, don’t let your neighbors see you.
Then pick up that pile of dog poop and carry it into your house, put it in a vase, and set the vase on your dining room table.
It may not look like a rose at this point, so you will probably have to remind it, “You are a rose!”
Then lean down and take a big whiff.
I can guarantee you that your “rose” will look and smell like a pile of dog poop.
Because … that’s what it is.
Words & Meanings
Which brings me to my thought for today’s episode
Right now, I am holding in my hands that book I was looking for at the beginning of this episode.
It’s a special book.
This particular book was printed in 1968 — fifty-four years ago — and it’s big, and it’s heavy, and the print is very, very small because they had to fit a lot of words onto the pages.
It’s called a … are you ready?
It’s called a … dictionary.
Remember when
You see, there was a time when words had meanings.
And dictionaries were physical books where the meanings of words were written down for everyone to see.
I know, it was a very different time.
Words no longer have meanings. Let me rephrase that. Words no longer have the meanings they used to have.
Today, a word means what the political correct (i.e. woke) want it to mean.
A couple of examples.
Birthing Persons
I’ve heard the term “birthing person” used a lot lately. I have to admit it wasn’t a word I remember using in my past at all, so I headed to the dictionary — my big, heavy, small print dictionary — to check it out.
I looked and looked and looked and looked, and I couldn’t find the word.
What kind of dictionary is this? It doesn’t even have a word that all the “smart” people use today.
Oh, it did have words like birthday, birth mark, birthday suit, but no birthing person.
I have to admit it did have the term “birth certificate”, but notice its definition.
“birth certificate, an official form recording the birth of a baby, noting the name, sex, date, place, parents’ names. and the like.”Random House Dictionary of the English Language, 1968
Boy … I mean Girl … I mean Person … where did they come up with that definition?
Like a doctor could actually know what the sex of a baby is when its born. Who do doctors think they are? Biologists?
Could people really have been that stupid fifty-four years ago?
And concerning that thing that comes out of “birthing persons” …
You can’t seriously call it a “baby.”
I mean if you call it a baby, you might feel bad if you ask a doctor to kill it for you.
And since not feeling bad is one of the prime directives of the Woke human race today, it’s easier just to rename that thing in the birthing person’s belly “tissue” so it can be eliminated without remorse.
“A rose by any other name …”
It has become fashionable in our world today to redefine words.
And they aren’t being redefined to reflect a gradual change in usage through the years. They are being redefined to support an agenda.
Recessions
If you are a politician in charge of a government that is in a recession because of your actions, rather than face the consequences of your actions that are leading toward an economic collapse, it’s much easier to just change the definition of a “recession.”
That way you can just smile and say everything is good.
Vaccines
When the government tells everyone to inject a vaccine into their body so they don’t get a disease, because that’s what a vaccine does. It keeps you from getting the disease.
But when millions of people still get the disease after taking the vaccine … what do you think the government does?
Do you think they tell the people to stop using the vaccine and then tell the pharmaceutical companies to fix the vaccine? Not a chance.
What the government does is to change the definition of a vaccine.
Taking a vaccine no longer keeps you from getting the disease. It’s not supposed to.
Their brand new definition of a vaccine no longer says a vaccine keeps you from getting the disease. so you can keep calling it a vaccine.
Where’s Mom & Dad?
Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy have been told not to use the words “Mom” or “Dad” because those words are too gender specific.
You have to admit they have a point.
“Mom” and “Dad are definitely gender specific terms.
Instead, the future officers of the United States Air Force should use words such as “parent” or “caregiver” so people can’t tell what sex your Mom or Dad are.
But it doesn’t end there. The Air Force also doesn’t want their future officers to use the words “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” because those are also gender specific terms.
Instead, the future officers of the Air Force should use words such as “partner” so people can’t tell what sex their boyfriend or girlfriend is.
As the world teeters on the edge of nuclear war isn’t it nice to know that we are training our military leaders to be woke?
A rose by any other name …
There is an interview with a stand-up comedian that I think you might like. It’s over an hour and forty minutes so it may be more time than you care to give to an interview, but at least listen to the last half hour where he shares about his wife’s battle with terminal cancer (1:09:00) and how God saved his marriage (1:16:00). And be sure to listen to the last story (1:35:00).
“Jim Breuer Doesn’t Care if You Think His Comedy Is Too Political” from the Glenn Beck Podcast.
“Iran, member of top U.N. women’s rights body, cracks down as women demand rights” by Aaron Kliegman. It’s interesting to note that the United Nations voted to make Iran a member of the Commission on the Status of Women, which is designed to promote the gender equality and empowerment of women. Doesn’t it just make you want to follow directions from the U.N.?
“REPORT: Group Promoting Transgenderism For 2-Year-Olds Raked In More Than $250 Million In Taxpayer Funds.” Have you ever wondered where your tax money goes?
“State Dept. Doubles Down On Spending $20K Of Taxpayer Money To Fund Drag Shows In Ecuador” by Brandon Drey. Some more of your tax money at work. But isn’t it nice to know that America is working hard to improve the world?
Just an update on my writing. Yes, I actually get around to writing occasionally.
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve had three producers request scripts. That doesn’t mean a movie is going to be made. It just means the pitch I sent interested them enough that they asked to read the screenplay.
I also had three scripts become “Official Selections” at a couple of film festivals. For those of you not aware of how that works, being selected allows me an opportunity to go to the festival and interact with filmmakers. I’ve met several producers at previous festivals. I’ve also been able to have face-to-face contacts with producers I’ve only met via email. That’s always nice.
Well, back to the keyboard.
Before I go I’d like to share a blessing with you from the Old Testament.
“May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 (The Living Bible)
Until next time … be the reason someone smiles today!
Clint
Fireworks graphic from bestanimations.com/gif
Rose graphic from pixabay.com
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