Wednesday, March 24, 2004
god, adequated
The vehicle, god, as it turns up on U.S. currency, in public oaths and in the pledge of allegiance faces the tap-tap of the Supreme Court's gavel today. Self-declared atheist Michael Newdow has sued, not for damages, but for removal. Since the tenor of god rings variously in the pledge and elsewhere, summoning associations from The Omnipotent Creator to soul-force to the authority of the democratic state to George Burns at his cigar-dragging finest (did you see that one?), I think the Court could suggest a compromise: prefer the lower case. Without god in the pledge, what else could one nation be under? Mustn't it be under something (other than Canada)? Or is the state now above all else, supreme, global, ever-present?
If the lower case compromise doesn't work, perhaps we could move for a homophone such as gawd or ghad. Yeah, that'd be progress toward the philosophical differentiation. But what would it change? Meaning? God is on the dollar bill in my wallet, but it's not on my ATM card or monthly statement or paycheck receipt--all of which bear authority, currency, faith in shared value. And this is where I'll stop, since I'm not so much trying to play out anything insightful about the god debacle as I am trying to distract myself from not being in San Antonio for C's. *I will not think of C's. I will not think of C's.* Kvetch-blog, therapeutic. In all honesty, I was just trying to use a few interesting and new (for me) terms from Richards' chapter on metaphor: vehicle, tenor and adequated (as in, a metaphor deadened for carrying only one idea, at which moment it ceases to be a metaphor). If not for this blog, I would keep it all to myself.
Posted by Derek Mueller at March 24, 2004 8:31 AM
to Under a Bushel
One nation under Canada makes sense to me. Unless, of course, you live in Michigan. Then Canada is beside you and above you. However, that's probably beside the point. Well, maybe the thumb. Better yet, we could say one nation under the thumb since most of the good ole USA is below the thumb of Michigan.
I know! We could say one nation above the panhandle since most of the country is above the panhandles Florida, Oaklahoma, etc.
Another option is, one nation above sea level. That would work.
Ok. Time to move on.
May the Force be with you.
pops
Posted by: pops at March 24, 2004 7:41 PMOne nation above sea level...perfect! Always from a land surveyor's perspective, Dad. Now, how to make that change without exiling the spellunkers or dehumanizing the swamp thing or upsetting the scorpions crawling about in Death Valley. Plus, with global warming, the sea level is receding, right? More land, higher elevations, longer borders to patrol. Some mess we've got here in this America. Some mess.
Speaking of Michigan, as elementary school students up there in the wintery tundra, we were told that the hand we were holding over our hearts while we muttered the pledge was Michigan. You mean it's not?
Posted by: Derek at March 24, 2004 8:22 PMRegarding your hand, the answer to your question is, as one late, great philospher put it, "Truth is absolute, however, humankind doesn't have the capacity to understand it."
Regarding global warming, don't worry about it! The world is running out of energy, so eventually we will need the heat. It's kind of like an algebriac equation.
There was a physicist who lived a long time ago in a place far, far away. He put forth a proposition regarding displacement in a fluid environment. With my own experiments I have proven this propositon to be true.
Its a very simple experiment. Mix up a vodka martini. Fill the glass to the very top with all the indgredients including all the ice. You will notice that some of the ice projects above the top of the glass. Now when the ice melts, does the glass overflow? I can even measure this with some of my laser stuff. Regardless, this is conclusive proof that global warming exists!
Happy blogging!
pops
Posted by: pops at March 25, 2004 7:18 PM
Above the rim of the glass?! Good God, Dad, what is it you've been mixing, doubles? Triples? This illustration confirms that I haven't adopted all of your refinements in taste (although I do have an affinity for the green olives). Slide one: the only martini glass in the house. Actually, it's a picture of a martini glass on a paper coaster. Slide two: the stuff that floats above the edge of the martini glass: coffee (well, actually cream and sugar syrup with a dash of coffee). Still thinking about: why do I use a coaster for a coffee mug?