Chris' Christian Blog

September 15, 2018

"September 15, 2018" 

Prompt: September 15 is The International Day of Democracy

"One of the defining features of the democratic spirit is the belief that more is obtained through dialogue, consultation and mediation than through coercion and arbitrary practices: in short, the law must prevail over the use of force. The democratic ideal is inextricably linked to a commitment to the peaceful resolution of conflicts and an aspiration for peace. UNESCO bears this aspiration like a standard."
̶ Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO

I have no idea what UNESCO is and I don't want to look it up. I'm sure it's a body that I will stumble across in my Comparative Politics class but as of yet I have no idea what it is. As to democracy I live in the United States so I'm familiar with democracy. It isn't a perfect system of government but I believe it is better than most. The biggest problem with democracy is that even though everybody gets to vote you often feel your vote doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. After all my vote is only one of some 365 million votes. I still vote and consider it a privilege to do so but I wonder if it really matters?

Deborah Spark was discussing reading Chekhov in an article in Writer's Chronicle. She noted reading differences compared to our age. In the article, she said she hated Chekhov when she was young but loves him now. I did too! For that matter, in high school I hared Jane Austen and Edith Wharton. I love them both as an adult. What about you were there books you read as a younger person and hated but as an older person now love?

For some reason I was never in a literature class in high school. Possibly because I quit school in the tenth grade and got my GED. I now have college degrrees and have read Austen, Dickens, Chaucer, Milton, and many others in extensive literature classes taken in college. Some of the authors I loved, especially Dickens Great Expectations and some I did not care as much for such as Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Maybe I'm just not that into romance. However I feel that the classics should be read by youth as an education is one thing that never goes to waste. Well I might not say that about algebra but....