Learning by Listening
and Reading.
Don't you wish our
president would develop these two skills? Those two "skills"
along with another that I shall refer to at the end of this scree
"might" help him develop some abilities which he obviously
lacks.
I certainly had no plan
to learn about war and peace by reading about early transportation in America, but
the appearance in our Little Free Library of "The Great
Railroad Revolution: The History of Trains In America"
by Christian Wolman was very relevatory to me. And it was just after
my last rant in which I discussed the early days of air travel during the 40s and 50s. Consider these statements:
"Henry Poor,
the founder of the American Railway Journal,
suggested that the railroads were an agent of national peace and
that 'the certain prevention of foreign war' will be one of the
numerous advantages of the railroads.”
Poor says trains and Christianity go hand in hand as forces for
good
The
Cincinnati Daily Chronicle,
in 1843, went further arguing the railroads would bring about
permanent peace, reducing prejudices and cementing friendships,
calculated to perpetuate the institutions under which we have risen
from a mere handful.
Wolman,
in his book, Engines of War: How Wars Were Won and Lost on
the Railways "Far from
being a catalyst for peace, the iron horse turned out to be one of
the most effective weapons of war invented by man, helping create a
far more intense, deadly, link to the type of warfare. The story of
the American Civil War can, in fact, be told through the railroads.
Only an understanding of the role the railroads played in it can
explain how this Civil War became bloodier and more intensely fought
than any previous conflict.
And
McCollum adds, "The scale of destruction and carnage can be
directly attributed to the railroads.
Since early childhood I
became enamored with railroading. But I had no idea that railroading
was seen as a precursor of an American tradition – anticipating
that new technical inventions would lead to peace and prosperity for
all. Isn't that what we have expected from the computer and its
revolutionary' forms of communication? Yet it is now apparent they
can also be used for a variety of nefarious purpose.
So what is my take away
from this chance personal discovery. It's primarily that we humans
have sought to explain/blame world conditions on everything from good luck
and chance inventions and even God's will. But we ourselves
and the way we make choices together as humans are responsible for
most of the world's conditions which are more threatening to me today
than in my previous 91 years.
IF HUMANS CAN DEVELOP THE MIRACLES THAT MAKE LIFE SO ENJOYABLE FOR WE FORTUNATE FEW, THEN SURELY WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO LEARN TO LIVE TOGETHER IN HARMONY.
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So much for my reading
and thought process. I'll take a few weeks off entertain family and friends before embarking on the rant I am most obsessed with. I'll try to circulate it more broadly when I finish it.
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I was encouraged by
several reactions and questions about my thoughts on transportation in the 1940s.
Particularly the relationship of bus travel to railroad travel. I clearly remember a variety of medium and long distance travels by
rail. San Antonio was quite a center for the Southern Pacific
Railroad. It was the half way location for train travel between
Florida and California and my grandparents home was only a few blocks
from the historic and architecturally dramatic depot. East and West
bound trains arrived each day about noon. How interesting to see tons of ice added in each of the passengers cars as a source for early air-conditioning. What fun to sneak chips of ice to suck on for our own personal cooling.
What a thrill then to take
that train traveling east and go about 500 miles to my first Marine
Corps base in Lafayette, Louisiana. Military leave time provided me with a
number of trips by train which was far superior to any bus travel at
that time. And what a fascinating experience to take the troop train from
Lafayette to Savannah, Georgia and Marine bases on the East Coast.
Upon being commissioned
as a Second Lieutenant at Quantico, Virginia, I took my first flight
from newly opened National Airport In D. C. to San Antonio via now-defunct
Eastern Air with about four stops on the way to San Antonio. After
two weeks leave I was headed for Camp Pendleton, California again
taking the railroad from San Antonio to Los Angeles.
Indeed train and planes
provided long distance travel and it was only for short trips that we
took the bus. My most memorable bus trip occurred upon being
discharged from the Marine Corps at the Corpus Christi, Texas Naval
Base. The remarkable aspect of that was that in going to the bus
station I discovered that the Firestone Tire Store had just received
four tires that my father had been searching for to get our Model A
Ford running again. During the war, tires were rationed and he kept
having flats. Upon learning that the tires would not fit into the
luggage compartment of the bus, I prevailed upon my three buddies to
join me in holding them on our laps for the 160 mile trip.
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I've been busy lately
traveling and involved with a new project. Much of that will be answering questions again on REDDIT"S Ask Me Anything And I've also discovered a new venue where I have been invited to share my writings, writerbeat.com
I then PLAN THAT MY NEXT BLOG WILL CONCERN RELIGION
and the community that churches provide their attendants. You might recall that it is one
of the five factors that have shaped my life although I NOW CONSIDER MYSELF AN ATHEIST
rejecting the lifelong teachings I've been exposed to about a god in heaven, the virgin birth and a life in heaven after death. Yet because of what churches have the potential to provide I still find myself a member of and attendant at a variety of churches. You see, along with a number of other factors, I feel religion has not only been a major cause of the world's problems, but I also feel that is the only through a proper understanding relationship between religions that the world problems can be solved.
IN THE MEAN TIME..................
I'd like to encourage you
to take time to read a lecture/sermon that should be read by our PRESENT president about an aspect of his character I find he lacks - HUMILITY.
The advice was given to former president Barack Obama at Washington's
National Cathedral upon his second inaugural by Methodist Minister
the Rev. Adam Hamilton.
I hope you'll take the
time to listen to it in its entirety. I think you will see why president
Trump asked that there be no sermon before he would agree to attend a
similar service this last January at The Washington National Cathedral.
