Winning Words 6/24/11
“That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in the next.” (John Stuart Mill) Bruce J sent this to me, and I asked him for an example. “Bottled water,” he said. In my thinking, I came up with mold used to make penicillin, the growth of Christianity, and, lastly, Milorganite. I wonder what the philosopher, JSM, had in mind…or what you can come up with. ;-) Jack

FROM GOOD DEBT JON: Government borrowing and spending 42 cents of every expenditure would have seemed totally absurd only a short time ago.////FROM JACK: ...and the way we personal spend on borrowed money.

FROM MARCY IN FLORIDA: Sunscreen that sprays. And of course looking at our phones. We are all doing that 10yrs to.....////FROM JACK: We don't use much sunscreen in Michigan, but people looking at their handheld phones would be an absurd idea just a few years ago.

FROM SH IN MICHIGAN: Another thing which has been occupying me lately is miraculous healing. It happened when Jesus, and he gave his disciples authority for it, and some part of Christianity today puts emphasis on it but other parts downplay it. Some parts put the height of wisdom in what we can understand, other parts put the height of wisdom in things we don't and still can't understand. And we look at each other and think of each other, we are an absurd peoples, all in this one generation.////FROM JACK: I remember seeing many old people with canes. Artificial knees and hips have caused a recession in the cane manufacturing business.////MORE FROM SH: Birth control. I wonder if clear back when the Bible was being written and people were writing "Be fruitful and multiply" any of them had an inkling anyone would ever think it wisest not to do that.////FROM JACK: Yes, another example of what grandma and grandpa would never have thought about (or talked about).

FROM HAPPY TRAILS IN NOVA SCOTIA: Had to google that term!////FROM JACK: I always thought that a google was this...10000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,
0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000. Then I realized that I had misspelled, googol.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: My grandmother and mom made beautiful wedding cakes. Watching some of these programs now where they make these awesome cakes would just floor my grandma and mom!////FROM JACK: I'd rather have home-made than store-bought, any day.

FROM PRDL IN OREGON: Jack regarding your request for absurdity becoming wisdom: "wearing blue jeans to worship and to public meetings!" Thanks again for the inspiration in each days 'winning words"////FROM JACK: Yes, and how about the way that pastors dress? What a change. And...last week, Mary came across my old Luther robe in a plastic bag. "Let's throw this away. You'll never wear it again." What do you think was my response? BTW, I remember the first time I look out on the congregation and saw a member, sitting in the pew, calmly drinking coffee from a styrofoam cup. What?

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: The wheel.////FROM JACK: Did you mean The Wheel of Fortune?

FROM BLAZING OAKS: I can remember One of the major movie moguls saying that Television had no future, and would not last! whoops! not the height of wisdom, but certainly has lasted, and grown! Computers...from first being the size of a room, now to hand-held. Internet College classes, newspapers, etc/ etc/ What a vast source of instant information on the internet! Who could have dreamed this two generations ago? I'm sure there are many examples of this winning word today! Now they are not going to teach cursive writing in our schools, because it is outdated! No one needs it...! Changes, changes.////FROM JACK: I learned cursive, but it didn't do me any good. I used to write out my sermon notes, but when it got to the point where I couldn't read my writing, I switched to the computer.

FROM LG IN MICHIGAN: Here's one for you, Jack... OXYGEN BARS!! A few years ago our family went to Colorado for a much-anticipated ski vacation. I got a blinding headache every day for 4 days in a row from "altitude sickness," which is caused from too little oxygen in the bloodstream when a "flat-lands" person travels to thinner-air mountain regions. On the 5th day, I surrendered to it and went to an "oxygen bar." It seemed like a regular pub, but instead of serving alcohol, each patron received a (new) cannula (tubing that fits around one's ears and nostrils for attachment to an oxygen tank) and 20 minutes of oxygen for $10. I got 30 minutes of oxygen, the headache vanished for good, and I felt like I could've done cartwheels all the way back to the hotel. If anyone had ever told me as a child that I would be paying for water and oxygen, I would have thought he was crazy! ; ) I also have one for the reverse of your adage...That which seems the height of wisdom in one generation often becomes the height of absurdity in the next... How about... the use of toxic chemicals (that suppress and damage the human body's own ability to fight disease) to treat cancer! I believe that one day folks will look back on us in wonder that we ever thought that pumping chemo into our blood was a good idea...////FROM JACK: Great examples. As a follow up, how about when barbers treated illnesses by bleeding people, thinking that poison was in the blood? The red stripe on the barber pole was put there to indicate that "bleeding" was done at that place.

FROM EMT SINGS IN MICHIGAN: As a real foot-dragger, I can really identify with this. I dragged my feet for a long time over getting a cell phone. Now I cannot leave home without it. As to the matter of fashion I would say "I would never wear something that short (or long), etc". But when "everyone" is doing it, it seems like the thing to do. Now the layered look is all the rage. We used to think all tops (like T shirts,etc) needed to be tucked in. Isn't it all interesting?////FROM JACK: How about paying "extra" for blue jeans that look worn and have holes in them?

FROM FM IN WISCONSIN: Front wheel drive for an automobile – automotive reaction to the development by Audi 50 years ago . . . and the number of automobiles today that have front wheel drive. ? What will be the impact of AWD?////FROM JACK: The latest...No spare tires or jacks, because cars will tires that can run flat.