Return of the Knights Templar…

The Bunny and I were having a discussion, or more accurately, the Bunny was reminding me about something, and it took him three hours to do so. Non-stop. Bunnies are quite chatty if you are willing to sit and listen.

The monologue was about the cyclical nature of history. The Knights Templar, and the fact that the whole of the Crusades (vol.1 and 2) for that matter were religiously driven on both sides. The Bunny felt that we were once again at this point in time.

I did a little reading, and found this article about the current religiously-justified mind-set prevalent in dee-cee (http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/051205fa_fact).

It is a somewhat chilling read, especially the parts about being “in the grey area” and “being held prisoner and not knowing it”. Apparently the US Air Force is about to become the avenging angels of god, and that all is required is a complete abandonment of common sense relative to target-acquisition, combat-forward-air-control, and one immense sense of faith in a population that permits “honor killings” of abducted teenage girls and “sullied” women (http://www.kwahk.org/index.asp?id=77) and (http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Iraq/May05/honour.html).

So. The Bunny sits and watches as I contemplate this current event, and I am certain he will sit there and wait until I have something worth listening to. Or, he will go find a carrot somewhere, as he knows there is nothing I can say to salve this horrible feeling in my soul.

A Compass Points North…

When I was young, I received a compass as a gift. The gentlemen who gave it to me explained that it would always point to magnetic north, no matter where I was. I was stunned. How could something so simple be so incredibly useful? I spent days exploring my neighborhood, desperately trying to find somewhere that this little gizmo did not point north. And for that matter, what was magnetic north, and was there more than one North?

I have carried a compass almost continuously for over 40 years, and have never failed to marvel at the consistency and utility of such a simple device. I learned about magnetic north, geomagnetic poles, magnetic polar wandering and True North. It made me appreciate having to find your way through the world without one, navigating by the stars, landmarks and often sheer dumb luck.

Tonight I listened to a woman on the radio, describing her imminent ejection from the American middle class, the result of downsizing and out-sourcing overseas. I was struck by the fact that this woman had followed her social and moral compass for over 40 years, believing that she was “on course”; only to discover that her compass was correct, but “north” has moved.

Geologists know that the geomagnetic poles “wander”, and the geophysicists have explained “magnetic pole reversals”. Apparently this same sort of thing is going on in politics.

Regardless, it should make us all pause to appreciate both what we have, and the very thin veil of karma, luck, fortune or chance that separates our insulated lives from sheer chaos. I once saw my compass “dance”, as I walked over a large mountain of essentially magnetic rock, lured into the gyration as a result of the rapidly varying magnetic fields surrounding this mountain.

Hopefully “north” settles down. Seems to me that an intelligent designer would have fixed this early on…..