COMMENCEMENT SPEECHES ARE MOSTLY B. S.!

Every year, at graduation time, successful people are invited to address the graduates. They spew out worthless advice about how to succeed.  They give a lot of false hope to the average graduate. Their advice is usually some variation of the following. “You can be successful if you do these four things: Follow your passion, master your craft, learn from history, and study philosophy for leadership lessons.” Sounds simple enough but it is not the truth. These people have had the advantage of very good genes and lucky opportunities. The average graduate is not blessed with the intelligence of a Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. And, they are not blessed with the fortunate opportunities and physical abilities that enable them to achieve their dream in the long haul. Theodore Roosevelt had better advice, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are”.

My favorite advice for success in life was expressed by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;  to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded”.

ROMAN HOLIDAY, PART TW0

Two airline tickets to Rome_$2346.  Two train tickets to Florence_$140.  7 nights in Italian hotels_$1100. 7 days of Chianti, pasta, pizza, and gelato_$998. Admission to the Accademia Gallery Museum_$30. Seeing Michelangelo’s statue of David in all its unmutilated glory_priceless! The world’s most famous statue was created by the world’s most gifted sculptor to emulate a young David who is quoted in the Bible as saying to Goliath, “"Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of God?"  That is ironic considering that David is standing there with his foreskin hanging out and Goliath is covered with full body armor. Obviously, the artist did not use ‘David’ as his model. In keeping with the Italian Renaissance, he used an image of the perfect man without any mutilation.

In reality, David was a skilled warrior and politician who went on to create the only empire ever to arise in Palestine. He did it the same way other great warriors created empires, including the Roman Empire. He raided and killed his neighbors and invited the survivors to join his army. More and more warriors joined him for the promise of booty.

The Vatican tour was too crushed with tourist to be enjoyable. I think it had something to do with the popular new Pope. Otherwise, we found the Italian people to be nice to us. All the steps in the Coliseum, museums, and churches were tough on my knees. Even our hotel was up 4 flights of stairs. It reminded me of climbing the Andes Mountains to Machu Picchu. All and all, we had an enjoyable and educational trip. Next time, I will vacation in a very flat land without steps. Ciao! 

"Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of God?" 

A ROMAN HOLIDAY!

By now, you know that I am a seeker of truth and a student of ancient history and ancient religion. I believe that the past is the best indication of what has lead up to our present situation and why we believe what we believe. The history of the rise and the fall of the Roman Empire is one of the best sources of knowledge about where we came from and where we are going. The Roman Empire lasted for 500 years and the Republic of the United States has existed for 300 years. The Roman Empire started out as a dictatorship (Romulus and Remus) but became a Republic (the Roman Senate). There are many parallels of the two Republics. Eventually, the Roman Empire became a dictatorship which became weak because of greed and immorality of its leaders and it was defeated. Let’s hope we can learn from history.

500 years before the Roman Empire came into existence, there was a settlement on the seven hills that mined salt and traded with other tribes. Their God was a winged phallus that emerged in a dream from a fire. This God was protection against evil and also was the God of fertility. The Vestal virgins were put in charge of keeping the fire burning to protect Fascinus, the winged phallus. A monster came onto the scene and was killing people and eating them. A God called Hercules saved the people by killing the Monster. Hercules became another important God of the Roman settlers. Ancient historians used their own imagination to describe the Gods. That is why they are considered to be myths. But who knows. There could be some truth in these stories. The Roman emperor, Constantine saw a cross in a dream and decided that Rome should take up Christianity. You know the rest of the story.

Nancy and I are going to Rome on Friday to check all of this out. We will let you know what we find out. Oh yeah, we will be drinking Chianti and eating good Italian food.

                                Ciao!