AI Ain't Anyone’s Answer

Just when I'm lulled into thinking that Uncle Bubba is a simple country boy more intent on rigging a rod to catch a big fat fish or read the woods to plan a hunt, he springs something on me that catches me up and twists me sideways.

"I reckon that folks are finally starting to figure out that all this technology ain't all it's cracked up to be," he said nonchalantly as he tied a topwater lure onto his fishing line. "For some reason, folks fell for the trick of calling a jackass a horse and a fine one at that. This social media is as far from social as y'all can get! They say that it brings people together but that turned out to be a lie, didn't it. It should be called antisocial media." Bubbie chuckled to himself, pleased with his own joke.

He reared back and tossed out a long cast. He watched his lure get smaller as his line shot out in a graceful arc over the water. He sat quietly and intently has his lure plopped down and the line fell soft atop the surface. After a few silent anxious moments, he twitched the lure laying afloat on the water and he spoke again, "The young folks that created that mess couldn't have known the evil that resides in the hearts of men; they hadn't lived long enough. But their greed willfully blinded them to it as that mess spun out of control. I reckon that in the past years they've learnt and thing or two but they still can't help themselves; in their self-righteous ignorance they've tried to control it instead of doing the right thing--destroy it. But ain't that the neverending story of mankind?" Bubbie's tone was a little sarcastic as he reeled in his lure and flung it out again. This time there was a small explosive splash atop the water as he hooked a nice bigmouth bass. He landed it and we admired its beauty before releasing it to be caught again another day. After a few more quiet casts he picked up where his thoughts trailed off, "And shame on the folks that seem to think that the world can’t exist without a smartphone. They ain't got no more brains than a herd of ants. They line up and march on just like they're trained, never considering where they're going, or nary a thought about what they're leaving behind for their babies."

I like computers, I'm using one to write this story. Smartphones and computers are useful tools and they're entertaining. But I'm inclined to agree with Uncle Bubba's perspective. I think (and hope) that this social experiment has run its course and we, as a society, can reassess the results. I don't know if we're more divided than ever but we're definitely driving 100 mph towards a cliff. Perhaps we should pump the brakes and turn the wheel. If it hasn't become obvious that AI (artificial intelligence) algorithms are purposely giving us information that reinforces our own views then wake up. The things that are being fed to you are the things it knows you’re going to agree with. You’re not getting this diversity of opinions, you’re getting a very narrow view of the world. You have more information available to the general public than any time in history and yet people are making bad decisions and you wonder why there’s so much division? It’s this combination of social media and AI algorithms that are driving people away from diversity to just self-reinforcing opinions.

Sadly, our politicians have also fallen for this trick and why not, they aren't the sharpest tools in the tool shed and it's the easiest thing to do; assume that everyone one on social media is, well, everyone. But it’s not. It's a virtual world, pretend. It doesn't really exist so things can be, and are, made up.

And many adults aren't Tweeting all day and night because they have jobs and families to occupy their time. They have a life and it revolves around paying bills (and taxes), caring for family and friends, and maintaining their property. So who are these opinionated geniuses?

Uncle Bubba reckons, "...that we're being lead around by a bunch of old farts mistakenly pandering to spoiled, unruly teenagers. A bunch of know-it-all brats! AI ain't anyone's answer to unity because it ain't a person."

It’s computer code programmed by people with vastly different motives.

With the topwater bite tailing off Uncle Bubba tied on a jerk bait to try and entice some fish hanging out in deeper waters. As he cranked his reel to retrieve the lure his attention was split between the feel of his line underwater in anticipation of a bite and the breeze rustling the treetops along the shore. Patches of clear blue sky appeared as the sun streaked through the fluttering leafy green bows but perhaps a storm was pushing its way through the air into their near future. Suddenly Bubbie yanked back hard on his fishing rod and set the hook on another nice bass. The fish broke the surface and jumped in an attempt to spit the hook. In Bubbie's view, that fish on the line, realizing that it had been duped by a fake bait, had more sense than most people online. At least it tried to get away instead of just swimming willfully, following along on the line to its doom.

Duh, It Ain't Climate Change!

Uncle Bubba feels dumb, dumb, dumb. He can't believe that he just never saw the dog-gone truth. But he does now and it came in a watershed moment while listening to a podcast from 99% Invisible, episode 355 titled Depraved Paradise. In short, Mexico City is running out of water. In part, by building a paradise on the porous lava fields of El Pedregal. As Joni Mitchell sang, "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot..." and housing, lots and lots of housing. So, too many people, historically poor design ignoring geographical anomalies and all of the infrastructure aimed at draining the rainwater from the basin, due to flooding, works against efforts to retain water for human consumption. So, "Mexico City is flooded, thirsty, and sinking — it’s a complicated problem with no simple solution..." Within the content, it was stated that Mexico City is pumping water out of the aquifer twice as fast as it can be replenished. Doesn't that strike y'all as an impossibility? It does to Uncle Bubba. He was never a math whiz but that's one of those things y'all hear and go, huh?

All of this was summed up by the host stating that climate change is only going to make all of it more extreme. Boom! That's when the flood of truth rushed into Bubbie's brain. All this talk about climate change isn't really about extreme weather, it's about OVERPOPULATION. But nobody wants to talk about overpopulation because it's a slippery slope and makes politicians nervous. For instance, we'd have to talk seriously about worldwide birth control, the living conditions of third world countries, increased emergence of new epidemics and pandemics, increased habitat loss, less freedom and more restrictions, elevated crime rate, the depletion of all natural resources, not just fresh water.

Uncle Bubba dripped with sarcasm, "Why would they talk about solutions to all these complex issues when click-bait headlines can be grabbed and political grandstanding bellowed by blaming rich white dudes? They say if we just stop polluting all problems are solved. Stop consuming and polluting, hahaha! Y'all can't have one without the other; it's the world we've created." In Bubbie's view, our "leaders" just figure that it's easier to call it a generic term and talk about the weather than to get to the truth.

I told Uncle Bubba that this is called a misnomer and he told me that he thought Miss Nomer might've been his 8th-grade teacher. We both agreed that when we talk about climate change we all should just keep it about the weather. 

Answer The Dang Phone!

This is what Bubbie can live with, everybody has a cell phone in their pocket and when you call them they answer it and you have a conversation. This is what Bubbie can’t live with, everybody has a cell phone in their pocket but you call and you call and you call, you leave voicemails and nobody calls you back. If we’re not going to use our cell phones as a portable twenty-four-seven, 365 contacting device then let’s go back to putting the old phone on the wall in the kitchen. If you're home you answer it and if you’re not home you don’t answer it.

That way we know that we can’t get a hold of you and we can move on with our life. Otherwise, we have to keep calling and calling, texting, calling again and leaving voicemails because we are sure that the person we’re trying to reach is probably within 3 to 5 feet from their cell phone at any given time. But probably the ringer is off, or they're screening their calls, or sometimes it's not even their fault it’s just there is not a good signal. And we wind up wasting time and energy burning calories trying to contact somebody that should be in instant contact with because we have mobile phones. In Bubbie's view, just answer the dang phone!

Uncle Bubba says he'd be remiss if he didn't include one more thing to his rant; the fact that we still can't get a signal. It's 2019 and we're often lucky to get one tower. We're still stuck on, "Can you hear me now?" We've had cell phones for more than 20 years and our conversations haven't changed: "Are you still there? Can you hear me? Did I lose you?" Technology has stalled. It's a failed experiment. In Bubbie's view, all of this technology has made life more frustrating.

The Civility War

During these winter days, even in the south, we have a little more time to slow down and reflect on things. Perhaps the long, dark evenings have something to do with that but only if we resist the constant glow of our everpresent tech devices that serve as a distraction from what we might or should be mulling over. Watching several TV shows and movies recently set in times prior to cell phones and such, I have been struck with the time that people within the plots of the stories had to sit and think things through. Detectives process clues and lovers consider their love and devotion. Of course, we can still do this today if we so choose, we just have to keep it at the forefront of our minds that this option is always there.

I realize that I've offered conflicting ideals of choosing a path away from, let's say electronic devices while using TV to reiterate my point but I'm only human with a limited intellect--haha! I also think that in the path of getting away from tech devices is why I enjoy spending time with Uncle Bubba and Aunt Sweet Pea. They live in a slower paced, more thoughtful world. Sure, they have TVs, a computer and cell phones but they are of a generation that doesn't adopt the notion that others have, that we cannot live without them; the truth is we can. It would just be a very different life than what we live today. Neither better or worse, just different. Personally, I'd say I'm at the age where I've lived half of my life without computers and a half with. I can see the benefits and deficits of both sides. This double vision isn't just technological, I've also lived half of my life in the North and half in the South and can say with certainty that there is a marked difference of inherent characteristics of each environment, not to say one is better than the other, or that I've discovered something new that hasn't been stated in a hundred different ways because it has. However, in this era of the ever increasingly low standard of incivility, inflamed by technology via social media, it seems more pronounced to Uncle Bubba and me. Hold onto your hats 'cause here it is: folks from the South are gracious and folks from the North are pushy. Now before you all get your panties in a bunch let me say once again that neither quality is good or bad, just different. And if you live in either environment you are going to find life's path easier if you tend toward doing as the Romans do.

So let's take a look at these two ideas as to why neither is better than the other. Starting with graciousness, that carries a connotation of pleasantry and amiableness wrapped in courtesy and for the most part that's correct. However, one can use that type of language and be vague, miserable and even rude. I found, especially through my relationship with Uncle Bubba that Southerners like to use colloquialisms to express things and some are to warn you or get a strong point across. An example of this can be seen in an expression of anger, "I'll jerk a knot in your tail!" With that said, you'd better believe that some angry action might take place if the offender didn't take heed.

Northerners, on the other hand, tend to voice their opinions in plain, blunt, and obtrusive utterances, even when oftentimes the less said the better. As an example, Uncle Bubba recently told me a story about his auntie Charlene who lived her entire life up north; yes, she's a Yankee. She came to visit and Uncle Bubba took her around to meet some folks and they paid a visit to a friend of the family, a lady who was from South Carolina. They traveled a beautiful country lane lined with live oaks dripping Spanish moss. Across a mown green field they saw her white, Greek revival home come into view and it was grand as they turned into her circular driveway. As Auntie Charlene described it, "It was a monstrosity of a thing. Disgusting if you ask me. One little old lady living in a house big enough for several families." Well, fortunately for Bubbie that was reserved for the family in the privacy of their vehicle. Uncle Bubba said that it was "a big ol' place" and "nice enough".

"The old lady invited us in and welcomed us into her parlor," said Bubbie. "She served us iced tea as we made small talk. She told us a few anecdotes about her family when Auntie Charlene spoke up and asked about some paintings of plants on the walls. 'Oh those are paintings of ta-bacca,' the old lady says."

"Tobacco! Auntie Charlene yells, all bug-eyed" Bubbie howls with laughter at his own recollection and description of the events. "I was thrown off by Charlene's say-so." He laughed again before continuing, "She went on a spell to tell that old woman about the evils of tobacco and the damage it can do to our health and if y'all don't think that put a bee in the ol' girl's bonnet. I didn't know whether to spit or go blind; then I thought that maybe I'd just duck. Before Charlene could draw another breath Mrs. Ta-bacca of South Carolina shut 'er down with a 'Bless your heart'." Bubbie's eyes grew big as he said it and he tilted his head forward in a knowing glance. "She then proceeded to tell us how tobacco was their family legacy and that her deceased husband, 'God rest his soul' had even served as president of the South Carolina Tobacco Grower's Association." Bubbie roared with laughter. "And Auntie Charlene took it like sucking on a sour lemon... but she took it."

So there you have it, the civility war. I laughed at Bubbie and his story; I could imagine his embarrassing discomfort, his Auntie Charlene's Yankee forwardness and the ol' lady's boiling annoyance. The prize was that they were all in the same room, face to face, having an actual conversation. They weren't blasting their opinions into cyberspace. And I'm sure that much of the old lady's graciously angry rebuttal was lost on aunt Charlene as is apt to do with Northerners. But in the end, they all composed themselves and attempted to get on in goodwill.

And I reckon that that's the lesson of the whole deal: the two sides both think that they're righteous and can't see any other way. We don't wanna put down our cell phones, we don't wanna walk in anyone else's shoes, we don't want a united country, a United States of America; we're planted deep like an ancient oak in our personal truisms. In Bubbie's view, it's the means to our end.

The Cleverness Of Evil

After recently speaking with Uncle Bubba about free speech, a meme was sighted online--the exact quotation of which I cannot rightly recall--but it essentially said that the Left doesn't want a wall because it doesn't work: they don't want it because it does. Well, that kinda got me thinkin'. I decided to pay another visit to my uncle and share this idea with him. I drove over the two-lane county roads under a clear blue winter's sky to Uncle Bubba and Sweet Pea's home. I thought about the beauty of our country, of nature, of the world. After arriving at Uncle Bubba's, I knocked on their door and was greeted with warm smiles as they invited me in. After some catching up and small talk, I eventually brought up the topic. He had one word to say about it, "Clever." I nodded in agreement but wondered what he thought was clever, the idea behind the meme or that the left might actually be using reverse psychology? Uncle Bubba must have noticed an inquisitiveness in my expression because he offered up an expository.

"I reckon that there are some shallow mouth breathers that actually think that a wall doesn't divide one piece of real estate from another," Uncle Bubba paused, "though I don't know how. So, yessir, deep in the heart of those opposed to a wall, any wall, anywhere are so because they work."

Yeah, I thought, it's common sense. There's an old saying, a proverb that exists in many cultures that good fences make good neighbors. In American culture, its common usage may have sprung from Robert Frost's use of the phrase in his poem, "Mending Wall," published in 1914. Two neighbor's meet at their property line to mend a stone wall, in agreement, in like-minded cooperation. They would not do it if it didn't serve a purpose. It could be a metaphor for the human need for boundaries. When boundaries are clear, relationships can better prosper. If you know where you stand, where your property begins and ends, and are free to do on your side as your neighbor is on his or hers, it makes for better relationships between people. Nothing can be more contentious between neighbors than a property boundary dispute, good or strong fences remove the possibility of that contention.

But benevolence aside, a wall is a form of a tool. Uncle Bubba agreed, "No wall is impenetrable. People will eventually dig under it or cut through it or go over it, but it gives you enough time to respond and apprehend them. Really? Ya think? Isn't that what our border agents would want to assist them in the performance of their duties?"

"Hey... doesn't this cleverness make us think about our previous visit and some of our ideas about free speech?" a wide-eyed Bubbie asked. Something just struck him. "What do you reckon, are these opponents of free speech clever or shallow? In my view, they could be trying to limit free speech, not so much to stop their shady perception of hate speech but because they're trying to limit scuttlebutt about their ignorance, lies, corruption, and dishonesty. Clever."

Free Speech Stupid

In this neverending world of inane, endless discussion of postmodernist drivel, the troubling thing for Uncle Bubba is that those that are questioning the legitimacy of free-speech isn’t just young people; it’s also people of more mature age. People that have life experience, people that should’ve been taught about our rights in school. For the record, it was taught in school when Bubbie was there; he remembers and he wasn't even really paying attention most of the time. It troubles him because it’s a far greater indicator of an underlying problem in our society if people are still, 243 years beyond the formation of our country still not understanding these foundational precepts. There is no progress. As Uncle Bubba puts it, "It's stupid. It's like running uphill on an ice-covered road wearing plastic soled shoes! It's exhausting and in the end, you're no further along than when y'all started."

Who are these people; the intellectuals that think that it might be a good idea to limit speech? Are they the cantankerous ol' fogies we see in the grocery store lines that are fit to be tied with the bagger-person for not putting their vittles in the sack as they see fit? Are they the folks we've seen on the highway who have no regard for the law? They drive with no inclination for using turn signals, stopping completely stop signs, racing through yellow lights, driving slowly in the left lane, everybody's tailgating, the list goes on. Is it ignorance or complacency? Maybe both but it’s striking to see the mature age of the people that fail to understand the depths of chaos they cause when our societal standards are ignored.

"Maybe it's a lot of them crusty ol' farts," says Bubbie, "but stupidity knows no bounds. I don't think that you can put a face on it."

Well, you can if it's the face of California Democrat Congressman Ted Lieu. He says he would love to regulate speech. That's chilling coming from a person in authority.

Here’s some common science for you; for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. It’s Newton’s third law of physics; lil Bubbie learned that in high school. Here’s some common sense; for every statement you say, you may offend someone. There is no law or change of our constitutional rights that can change any of that. In Bubbie’s view, he can’t believe that he’s actually trying to say all this to people his age, but he's sure enough glad that he has the right to.

Love & Friendship - It's A Mess

Uncle Bubba cut on his TV Sunday morning and the pastor Keith Butler was in the middle of a sermon. He was telling an anecdote about when he was a youth and wanted to hang out with his friends. His father said, "those people are not your friends, they are just people you know. You won't know who your friends are until your down in hard times and someone sees you through it and stands by your side; that's your friend. And you might only meet one or two in your entire life." Wow, Uncle Bubba wished that he had a daddy that would have told him these types of foundational insights. 

Love has never been a difficult thing for Bubbie. He loves people. But he's often confused love and friendship. Even after living half a century he has struggled with this idea, that just because you love someone, that does not make them your friend. In fact, Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor. That's it. He didn't say we had to like our neighbor or skip over your mean neighbor to love your nice neighbor. He simply said to love your neighbor. Hoo-doggy, that's a tough one!

But in regard to friends, Jesus said the following, "You are My friends if you do what I command you." (John 15:14) There is a lot wrapped up in that statement but here's Uncle Bubba's take on it; first, even with Jesus, there are conditions for friendship, boundaries if you will. Secondly, friends make an effort to be friendly. Some dictionary terms of being friendly are kind, helpful, favorably disposed; inclined to approve, help, or support. So to be a friend we should be amicable and supportive. If people aren't treating Uncle Bubba that way, then they aren't his friend. It seems obvious but in real life practice, it's much more difficult to discern when emotions and such are involved.

These friendly qualities are generally easy for Uncle Bubba. Perhaps it's his personality and somewhat attributable to his early influences. He was a Boy Scout and their Law is to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Forty years later he can rattle them off by heart and readily admits that they cross his mind frequently; especially when he runs up against someone that is cross or just plain mean.

"So there ya go," says Bubbie, "we're right back to the crux of my struggle. I've had to learn, at an older age and you know what they say about old dogs, that just because I love someone doesn't mean that they are my friend. But in my view, I'm gettin' to be OK with just people I know."

Grandparents Are Wolves

Sweet Pea was thumbing through a magazine when a strange sight caught her eye. It was an ad by GSKSource, which is a company that sells vaccines. To Sweet Pea and Uncle Bubba, it was a disturbing image that the company chose to use: two wolf people, obviously supposed to be grandma and grandpa, holding a human baby. As grandparents, it made them feel sad, disappointed and misrepresented.

This image was intended to scare family members of helpless babies. Young parents are supposed to be fearful of their parents holding their precious child and infecting them. Grandparents are supposed to be fearful of spreading their germs that cause "severe illness". So the answer is to vaccinate everyone? It would be laughable if it wasn't so scary. By the grace of God, we've been relying on our own, natural immune systems since the dawn of time, and thriving; instinctually knowing the communal exposure to your own family and surrounding environment strengthens our immunities; it makes us stronger. Want proof? Look at how much the human race has grown. 

No, this rush to inject manmade remedies to questionable threats doesn't pass the sniff test. In Bubbie's view, this suspiciously wreaks of propaganda. If one looks at what propaganda is, "...information that is not objective and is used primarily to influence an audience and further an agenda, often by presenting facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is presented (Wikipedia)." then a rational person should be able to reason that companies are using propaganda to make money. Why is it, in Bubbie's opinion so egregious? Because companies like GSK aren't just selling shoes, they are selling harmful toxins that people inject into their bodies. Wow! That's scary stuff. Not only that but they are employing their business practices with the approval of that federal agency that was set up to watch out for our health and medical safety, the CDC. What a racket. It brings to mind an interview heard recently of Eric Weinstein who coined the term "intellectual dark web". He said that scientists should be irreverent and that the biggest discoveries, the ones that really move the needle are made by irreverent scientists that are very disagreeable. This is quite a different approach from the scientists that work the company agenda and drink the kool-aid so to speak. Uncle Bubba coined a term for them: complientists.

In Bubbie's view, if it's all so good for us, then why the need for propaganda? Why not give us the objective facts and median statistics and we can decide for ourselves what is best for us and our families.

Old No. 7 - Adultery Is Child Abuse

I took a Sunday drive through the country on a gorgeous Spring day. The winding roads spun a tale of fresh growth with light green sprouts and baby blue skies; like time stood still or never started with Springtime now or eons ago laid out along the roadside. It was like seeing history as it was happening and knowing that it was still ancient history. I passed a little white church that still had a few lingering patrons dressed nicely chatting by their vehicles parked in a shady grass lot and I thought of Uncle Bubba and Sweet Pea; were they home from church yet? It has been a while since I visited them so I drove to their place. I found them just returning home from church and they welcomed me in as always.

"Y'all missed a good service today boy," Uncle Bubba crowed.

I felt flush as embarrassment rose from my chest and into my cheeks. I know how seriously Uncle Bubba and Sweet Pea take going to church. I deflected by offering up an invitation to tell me all about it.

"Yessir, I'm sure of it. Did you learn anything new?" I replied.

"The preacher was on fire today, his talk was about how adultery was not only a sin but if there are children involved, it is also child abuse."

Uncle Bubba stepped out of the room as he spoke, only to return shortly in his casual clothes. I sat quietly at the kitchen table. Sweet Pea hummed a pretty tune while starting to gather food from the fridge to prepare lunch but my mind was twisting Bubbie's words around in my head, adultery is child abuse. Really? That thought had never really occurred to me. Sure, broken homes and broken marriages are hard on the kids but I suppose that I never really thought about to what extent; I reckon that I never really wanted to because it might be disturbing. After all, I knew a lot of people that either came from broken marriages or had affairs and in trying not to judge them and still see the best in them I didn't want to see the bad... was it really my business? Uncle Bubba came back in without missing a beat and continued his story.

"Jesus says keep the commandments and we all know that but he also said that if anyone causes a child to stumble it would be better for them to have a big ol' millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea! (Uncle Bubba did not cite verses but they can be found at Matthew 19:18-19 "'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.'" Matthew 18:6-7 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!)

This was some heady stuff to take in on such a beautiful Spring day and I can see why Uncle Bubba was fired up, it is one of the contradictions of life. Do we stand on our principles or conform to constantly shifting societal ideals? I told Uncle Bubba that for the most part, I have tried to maintain a secular view of this “unintentional” child abuse by a parent, as that is how most view the world -- they cannot see beyond the end of their nose. We're addicted to the game; when we’ve found our latest “soul mate” the long-term ramifications are normally of little concern. We want what we want when we want it.

Bubbie replied, "But for those of us who claim His name, we must consider how God sees this issue. Read your bible. If ya do y'all're gonna find that there's some things in there that will bend your nose outta joint. But that doesn't mean that they aren't right."

"OK," I said, "to be fair, there are people who are divorced who did not want to be but their partner left, and there are people who have a spouse that died. There are single parents that were never married. So we could say that adultery doesn't really apply as long as they date others with equal circumstances. Would that be abusive?"

"It is," Bubbie replied, "if the parent is bringing people into and out of a child's life; you know, mommy or daddy's "special" friends. It's instability! And if we're brutally honest, there's neglect and abandonment because an adult infatuated with a suitor is not focused on being a good, consistently stable parent. It's just a fact. A biological fact. And what becomes of a kid who becomes attached to their parent's boyfriend or girlfriend and then they break up? That person is just ripped out of a child's life. Then what?"

Well, that's Bubbie's view and in this case, it is hard for me to argue against it. It's also why I love Uncle Bubba so much, he lives by common sense. Sweet Pea served up a delicious Sunday dinner topped off with a slice of homemade peach pie and big ol' glass of iced tea as the brilliant rays of the late afternoon sun strain to pierce Sweet Pea's window curtains. Uncle Bubba talked about getting his garden ready to plant and an early fishing adventure with Cousin Earl. It was fun. Later, we all bid one another adieu and I drove home under that afternoon sun. White cotton clouds floated peacefully above but dang if Bubbie's church service was still nagging at me. After returning home I did a quick search online and found, "The Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect". It says that child abuse is "any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.” Emotional harm, hmmm... that's a big one. I thought about this definition, and what Uncle Bubba said, and about the words of Jesus and I'd have to say that, yes, adultery is child abuse. There is an obvious reason that number 7 in the Ten Commandments is do not commit adultery, it ruins the family which is the rock-solid foundation for a civilized and Godly humanity.

To be honest, there was one other bit of information that I found online while searching for a definition of child abuse that really cast a light on the topic; it's the statistics pertaining to the children from broken homes. The children are:
* two times more likely to drop out of school.
* three times more likely to have behavioral disorders.
* ten times more likely to be abused physically and/or sexually.
* four times more likely to become alcoholic.
* six times more likely to abuse drugs.
* twelve times more likely to end up in prison.
* three times more likely to become an unwed parent.
* five times more likely to live in poverty.
* three times more likely to commit suicide.

If this is the result then any reasonable person would have to draw the conclusion that the actions that caused the result are abuse. Go figure... there are a thousand reasons not to cheat, but none more important than what you’re about to do to your innocent child who believes in you -- who loves you -- who trusts you.

All of this bothered me through the night so I called Uncle Bubba the next day to discuss things a little bit more. We talked about how the little ones are so easily brushed aside as being resilient but these are the formative years of their lives. As Uncle Bubba mentioned, "What they perceive now will stick with them forever; we know, we were kids once too. How easily I can recall hurts of my childhood like it just happened yesterday and it was 50 years ago!"

But there was something more nagging at me, the idea that I had to consider how often I have been culpable in any of this. I surely was complicit in lies, choosing to believe them over the obvious truth; meaning, I have friends and family that have cheated and I never spoke up about how I thought that their behavior was wrong; I'd smile and go along with it so as not to rock the boat. As I said before, I didn't think it was my business, but truly I didn't want them to get mad at me. However, in the case of children, they are defenseless. If I am a citizen of a society, aren't I responsible for the betterment of that society? I recently heard someone say that you don’t have authority over anything until you take responsibility for it. That's why you can't go across the street and yell at someone else's misbehaving kids and expect them to listen. But by taking responsibility for doing the right thing, being a good citizen, and standing on Godly principles, I now have the authority to act and do my best to protect the defenseless. We should always speak up when we witness an injustice. I offered this up to Bubbie and he agreed.

He replied, "Listen Bubba, we all fall short, we're not perfect. So now you know where you stand. Make good choices going forward. Don't expect to get any pats on the back, that's not what it's about--it's about the children. In my view, we have to just keep on living by The Word and show love."

Tote Your Wagon Like A Man

Uncle Bubba related this story to me that he accredited to the late boxing promoter Butch Lewis: Every successful man has got rope work to do. Here is the analogy, you have a huge, thick, raw rope over your shoulder, you have on no shirt, you have on some tattered clothes, you have on no shoes. You got dirt on you and you’re sweating. There's burn marks on your shoulders. Connected to that rope is a wagon. That wagon has all your weight on it, all your responsibilities; all the people you’re responsible for, all your children, your wife, your family members, your co-workers, friends. They’re all on that wagon, they’re just sitting there. And what you have to do is pull the wagon up that hill. Now the only thing with it is, can’t nobody help you pull your wagon, you’re the only one on the rope. You pull your wagon alone.

What you can do along the way while you're pulling your wagon is you can find yourself a good wife, a good woman. What that woman does is get down off of the wagon and she fans you while your pulling, she puts water on you while you’re pulling, she puts food in your mouth while you’re pulling, she kicks rocks out of the way while you’re pulling. She is pulling for you. She is equally as important as you are on the pull of the rope.

Now get this here, those people on your wagon that you’re responsible for, you want those people to help you to get your wagon to the top. So you hope that they got their foot hanging over the side and they’re pushing. Or they might be sitting in the back with both legs pushing the wagon; they might be sitting on the wagon but they’re pushing. Their back facing your back but they’re pushing. Maybe some are on the side with one leg over the edge trying to push. You hope that all those people on the wagon that you’re pulling are back there at least trying to help the wagon get to the top of the hill.

Here come’s your problem though, everybody ain’t pushing, everybody ain’t pulling, everybody's not kicking rocks out of the way. Some people are just laying back on the wagon, drinking lemonade, looking at you, talking about how long it’s taking you to get up to the top. Looking at you talking about why this wagon so slow. Then when you start picking up speed they want you to pull harder, you to pull faster, you to pull more. Then they want you to throw what you’ve earned on your way up the hill back on the wagon so that they can have more. But guess what, they ain’t helping you get more. They have a sense of entitlement that says you got more, they should have more. Everyone that come with you cannot go with you. Sometimes you got to kick the people off of the wagon that aren’t pushing and pulling. You say,” I’m sorry man, I thought that I could do this with y’all and I thought you was going with me, but its clear to me that you ain’t nothing but dead weight and it ain’t my responsibility to carry dead weight anymore. I have carried you as long as I have to carry you. You are no longer my responsibility. I’m responsible for my family, my wife and my children; I am not responsible for you. You’ve got to get off of my wagon because I’m the man on the rope. I have the say so.”

A Headscratcher

Uncle Bubba read one of those headscratcher stories in the news. Well, y'all can read it for yourself...

"FLORAL CITY, Fla. - An unidentified man died in a Citrus County sheriff's deputy involved shooting in Floral City late Friday night, officials said.

The incident began shortly before midnight in the 5600 block of Sandalwood Way in Floral City, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies answered a call in reference to a suicidal man. When they arrived, the deputies announced themselves, but no one answered the door, and it appeared no one was inside.

The deputies launched a yard search. They spotted a man across the street in a wooded area, a Citrus County Sheriff's Office release said.

Deputies saw the man holding a firearm. After several verbal commands to drop the weapon, the deputies open fire, shooting the man, the release said.

The man was pronounced dead on the scene.

None of the deputies were injured during the incident. The release did not reveal the number of deputies involved.

Agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were called to the scene to investigate.

Per agency policy, the Citrus County sheriff's deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of the preliminary FDLE investigation."

Soooo... they prevented him from committing suicide by murdering him? In Bubbie's view, this is a different approach to mental health care. One he won't subscribe to if he's feeling overwhelmed and struggling to cope in Citrus County, Florida.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Are You Ready For Some Football? Uncle Bubba ain't--not no more. In Bubbie's view, we could stop the NFL players from protesting during the national anthem fast; completely boycott the first weekend, no fans in the stadiums, no one watching on TV.

Health Insurance... Are You Kidding Me?

Uncle Bubba saw an article in the paper that validated what he'd been wondering about for quite a while; is this federalized health insurance really a good thing? The article stated that the cost of health insurance for the city's 38 employees and six elected officials is increasing by 6%. It does not say why there is an increase, that's just one of those mysteries that we all live with and never get a straight answer; but that's not of Bubbie's concern here, that's a discussion for another day. The bottom line is that the city currently pays $430,000 annually for its employee's health insurance or about $9,774 per person. With the increase, they will be paying $10,355 per person. Lord have mercy! Get your head around those numbers. $439,774.00 for 44 people. Also, the city does not pay for any part of an employee's family coverage. So in Uncle Bubba's estimation, Obamacare is very costly and that begs the question; what are we getting for our money? Maybe this is the best answered by people who have experienced using health insurance. Uncle Bubba has heard several common experiences from friends and family.

They don't reach their extremely high deductible. With most of their healthcare needs being minor, or preventative as recommended, users have to pay out of pocket even though they are still paying the required large monthly premiums.

They are receiving major treatment or being operated on and then almost immediately sent home to convalesce. Sure, it's saving the hospitals tons of money, Uncle Bubba calls it factory healthcare; like an assembly line--wheel 'em in and ship 'em out. But God forbid that anyone gets a complication while recovering at home with no professional care. This risky practice is subpar care. It lowers the bar. Is that what we want?

The federal system is an insurance program for catastrophic care, plain and simple. It doesn't improve or assist in the lives of the majority of its users, if anything it brings hardship and unhealthy duress. If you don't believe Uncle Bubba, then talk to the people that work within the system. Ask a Registered Nurse about the quality of care; if no one is listening in they'll tell you the truth.

Lastly, it only functions if all of the healthy people pay in and never use it so that the others can benefit from it; how is that different than when it was private? It isn't except it's poorly run and more expensive thanks to government intervention. We've also lost our freedom of choice, which is what mandates do. In Bubbie's view, it's hard to see why we all just keep paying and paying and never say enough is enough. We should demand better until we get it. Let's get the government out of healthcare.

Honey, I Love You

Uncle Bubba went to the local flea market early in the morning and spied a table with jars of honey poised upon it and a few busybodies buzzing around it. He sidled over to it and listened in on the conversation, the feller selling the honey was also the beekeeper. It was local raw honey and Bubbie tasted a few samples before buying a small jar of gallberry honey. He took his little amber jar home and since it was still early he brewed a cup of hot black coffee and popped a slice of bread into the toaster. He buttered his hot toast and then poured some of the gallberry honey on it and sat at the kitchen table savoring the aromas. Tiny bubbles surrounded the ebony sheen in his bone-white coffee cup. The toast lightly crunches as he bites into the sweet and buttery concoction. Then a floral bouquet blows up in his mouth as the fresh honey's full body of flavor releases itself and Bubbie's senses that he's tasting sweet flowers, actual sweet flowers.

When one experiences something similar, using honey as an example, in it's purest form it is remarkable. As Bubbie's mind was swirling with delight he couldn't help but think of the plants and bees that had to all come together to make something so complex and so simple. How can anyone experience that and doubt that there is a God, one that truly loves us? What other purposes can there be to have such a creation that just so happens to be edible and so good for us? Think, from bee to beekeeper, to Bubbie. It's so simple and that transaction is lost in the aisles of a supermarket. With distracting rows and shelves of fancy labels and choices, we fail to see God in it; the bee, the plant. In Bubbie's view, when we recognize how the universe works together for our benefit we can hear God say, "Honey, I love you."

For The Record

Uncle Bubba wants to go on the record in this political climate. "Remember that my life is but breath, and though my voice may go out and press against the wind my love of God's creation, humanity, compels me to speak." Admittedly, we have a president that has lived his life in the public eye because he's a rich dude and during the 70s and 80s, fame was misogynistic, coke snortin' revelry. No excuses, no defense, just sayin' that Presidents Trump's skeletons are not hiding in any closets. Then why are we wasting so much time and money trying to find in the dark what stands in the light? Now think about this... why can't the swamp be drained? Because Congress can't sacrifice a single one of their own to appease us, their constituents, because the rats will start squealing and they know where all the bodies are buried. So they keep rattling the bones of Trump to keep the spotlight off of their own frightening skeletons.

Secondly, do y'all really think that any congressmen or senator is anything more than a paid actor? They don't care about what they grandstand on, they are paid to be a mouthpiece. Do you think that at the end of the day when they lay their head on their pillow that they are stressed about immigration, tax reform, your healthcare and exorbitant associated costs, and etc? Uncle Bubba reckons that they only think about how to say what they're paid to say versus the content of their own heart.

One more thing, speaking of paid actors, all of these "news" anchors and political pundits are nothing more than paid spokesmen and spokeswomen, performers who have sold out for their own fame and fortune. Sure, they speak passionately for their side of the argument but come on... think about it. Without the TV camera and money, what would they really care about?

Cynical? Damn straight. That's because Bubbie has common sense--a brain. He uses his mind in the understanding that there is more than one side to any story. In Bubbie's view, whether it be Congress and the Federal government as a whole or the media, they cannot talk of being truthful, unbiased, or non-partisan because as observed by C. S. Lewis from the essay, “The Poison of Subjectivism", ”Unless the measuring rod is independent of the things measured, we can do no measuring."  We'd better see things for what they truly are and get actively rooting out the muck and find that drain for the swamp.

Intelligent Stupidity

Uncle Bubba was leafing through the Sunday sports page and skimmed through an article about Jameis Winston, the quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In Bubbie's opinion, the Buccaneers are a mediocre team due to mediocre ownership, mediocre management with mediocre ethics. For the uninitiated, Jameis Winston has proven to be, at best, of questionable character. It's only questionable if he will ever become a mentally mature man within his lifetime; other than that he has proven himself to be someone who has mediocre morals which fit in well with the Bucs and current crazy climate of the NFL. To his defense, he's a boy trapped in a man's body trying to navigate a rudderless pirate ship in a rudderless and completely unguided flotilla of the NFL.

All of that said, it brings us to the article in a paper. There were several quotes by former Bucs defensive tackle Booger McFarland, who joined ESPN's new Monday Night Football crew. According to McFarland, "Ultimately, the success of this franchise is going to depend on one thing: that's Jameis Winston. What he's got to learn is really simple: less is more. Less of the manufactured rah-rah stuff... Be the quarterback. It's a natural leadership position." McFarland went on pointing out examples of Winston's big ego and over-the-top antics. To quote the article, "McFarland's message to Winston: Be yourself, but temper it."

Bubbie's eyes fell on the next paragraph and he held in a hardy, sarcastic gut laugh while he read it through. "You look at other quarterbacks in the league. ...It's how they carry themselves. They step up to the podium and they look a certain way. You see them in public, they look a certain way. You hear them talk, they talk a certain way. The way they lead. The way they dress. The situations they do or do not get themselves into off the field. A certain way you've got to carry yourself. Just look at the ones that have been successful."

Bang! Uncle Bubba slammed the paper on the kitchen table and yelled, "That tears it! I can't believe it!"

"What?" asked a shocked Sweet Pea.

"Ever since we was kids we've been told to look at this person and that! We've been told to mind our parents and grandparents, to follow Jesus, to go apprentice or find a mentor. In school, we were taught history and learned about our forefathers and all the great leaders of the world and all their best qualities. We were encouraged to read biographies of successful people and use their lives as inspiration. In church, we study the bible and are supposed to follow Jesus, Paul, Moses, and Abraham and every other wise man in it. We had school teachers, coaches, scout leaders, and pastors. We had our heroes, comic book heroes, heroes in print stories and movies. Our entire society from the dawn of time has been all about finding successful people and be like 'em!" Bubbie ranted on, "And now this Booger feller nails it! He says to do just what we've all been told to do, all the time, forever!"

"Ok, Ok, calm down," Sweet Pea chuckled. "And why would that upset you?"

"Yes darlin', you're right," Uncle Bubba said toning it down. "It's just so dang infuriating when we have been force-fed a steady diet of just the opposite in the past how many years. Well, it's probably been a steady deterioration over many, many more years; who knows? We say what we should do and then do the opposite. We quit what works, we think that we're so dang smart that we outsmarting ourselves. It's just... intelligent stupidity."

"A deterioration of what exactly?" Sweet Pea asked.

"Well, I reckon," Bubbie spoke thoughtfully, "it's the deterioration of age-old ideals, and the idea that we are all in this ol' world together. We've sliced it up into individual pieces, it's all about me and mine. Oh, everyone says that in derogatory terms, like it's someone else's deal but it's all of us. Then everyone needs their space so we push the pieces farther apart. Talking face to face turned into computer chats and texts. I hate texts! They're so impersonal. So with all the what-about-mes isolated we become easily offended by anything we don't like or understand and demand censorship of everything. We're vilified if we don't 'do our own thing' and publicly shamed if we do, heaven forbid if we emulate our heroes. Every great thinker through history has been cut down into pieces, dissected and shown for the fallible person that they were. Yeah...hello...they were just people; like you and me. So we're supposed to just dismiss their genius? We think that because we live in a later age, that we're smarter than everyone who's come before us. Don't you think every generation has thought that?"

"Oh, I completely get it honey," Sweet Pea replied sweetly, "This world has turned upside down and it confusing to try to keep up with it."

Uncle Bubba sat back in his chair and gazed out the window for a minute and then turned to Sweet Pea. "It makes me sad Sweet Pea. It makes me sad because united we stand and divided we fall. I don't want to fall. I don't want anyone to fall. But I have an answer for that: come together. Maybe with more people talking like Mr. Booger we'll come full circle and start coming back together. We all need to grow up just a little bit more. Football is a team sport and the team needs to support its quarterback. Our country is a nation of people, one people... Americans; we should act like we like one another. As far as Jameis Winston becoming a winning leader is concerned, he'd be wise to heed the advice of Mr. Booger. In my view, we all would."

The Duke Remains The Same

The Duke happened to stop by Uncle Bubba's the other day for a short how-do-you-do. They were both pleasant and exchanged genuine niceties though it had been quite some time since they had seen one another or even spoke; it's been a long 2+ years for Bubbie since their friendship went off the rails. The heat of adversity has the ability to forge the character of a person much like a farrier shapes the red iron of a horseshoe. This has been the case for Uncle Bubba, a period of anagnorisis, the transition from ignorance to knowledge. Knowledge of what? A knowledge that there are many things in life that he got wrong. Knowing that instinct trumps intellectual reasoning, that common sense cures the wasting away of time. Not to say that he now knows everything, on the contrary, he is a babe in the eyes of God. Knowledge at this level can proceed peripeteia: a sudden or unexpected reversal of circumstances or situation; that moment when the facade falls away and one finally sees oneself. It causes a crisis of spirit and crushes the ego but if survived brings freedom within one's soul.

On the surface, The Duke is the same ol' cowboy he always was and one never really knows a person under that level. But on this day, there is still a fondness there and so many good remembrances of fun, eventful times. Uncle Bubba's eyes welled up as he watched The Duke ride off into the amber light of the setting sun.

After The Duke left and things settled down, a story came to Bubbie's mind and he smiled; it's a tale by Jerry Clower near as Uncle Bubba can remember it. Jerry and Marcel Ledbetter joined the Navy. They boarded a train in Macomb, Mississippi and it took them all the way to Williamsburg, Virginia. When they arrived the bus hadn't shown up yet to pick them up and take them to Camp Perry so the boatswain's mate said, "Hey, y'all start sweeping out this depot while you're waitin' on the bus."

Jerry said, "Well, that's the first push broom I every pushed that wasn't made out-a shucks. And we was pushin' on them brooms and there was two fellas sittin' on a bench right there and they talked real funny to me and Marcel. Didn't have no idea where they was from. And we was pushin' that push broom and that fella looked up and said, 'Jeese, you's guys...' I'm 17-years-old there, I ain't never been outta the South. He said, 'Jeese, you's guys, who won the Civil War?' Well Marcel Ledbetter brought that broom right over his head and busted it and said, 'The Civil War ain't over!'"

Mother's Day 2018 - Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Sweet Pea is like the proverbial* wife of noble character. She is strong in her quiet, steadfast support of Uncle Bubba. On this Mother's day, we should consider such things of each mother in the mindset of love and forgiveness. Mother's day began in the United States, at the initiative of a peace activist, Ann Reeves Jarvis who came to regret the commercialism and expressed views on how that was never her intention; she believed a mother is "the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world". Well, we all know that not all mothers are cut from the same mold, but we all came here through labor and birth. In Bubbie's view, we are commanded by God to love and forgive so it the responsibility of each of us to find honor in each of us and on this day, our mother.


*(Proverbs 31: 10-31)

Gub'ment Budget

Gub'ment Budget, HA! What a joke. A $1.3 trillion spending package. What they can't spend money on. (Money they ain't got!) Uncle Bubba believes he has a voice in the United States government. He is an active citizen and is not beyond writing his congressmen, congresswomen, and Senators in regard to issues that cause him concern. Emailing an elected official opts y'all in to receive their pandering newsletters. Uncle Bubba just received one from Senator Bill Nelson. He was proud to tell his constituency that he secured federal funding; something to be proud of?

Uncle Bubba read the newsletter out loud to Sweet Pea and then they paused and looked at one another. After a minute Bubbie said to Sweet Pea, "Darlin', I don't reckon that one thing on that list concerns us." He read through the list again, pausing after each title and say,"Nope, don't concern us..." In Bubbie's view, Senator Nelson is sure 'nough proud of spending taxpayers money, just wished he'd asked us all first.

Hiding In Plain Sight

Cousin Earl had to ride to the county seat to pay his tax bill and what-not and he asked Uncle Bubba to ride along just to keep him company. Uncle Bubba hadn't seen much of Cousin Earl lately so he took him up on the invite. It was a beautiful sunny Spring day though a little chilly for the wind; after all, it was March. Cousin Earl parked in the lot across the street from the courthouse and as he stepped out of the car he left the keys with Uncle Bubba so he could listen to the radio while he waited. Uncle Bubba cracked open the window and heard voices as he noticed several small groups of people standing between cars and talking. There were young and old, little children and grandmas. It didn't take long for Uncle Bubba to realize that there was a lot of drama happening in that parking lot. Well, it made sense since folks were coming out of the courthouse and walking back to their vehicles. They were probably there fighting over split-ups, divorces, child custody and what have you; maybe some small claims stuff, sad stuff. Come on man, if you lie with dogs, you're bound to get fleas.


Beyond the angry gestures and foul language, across the street and right under the American flag was a black granite statue of the Ten Commandments. Uncle Bubba stared at them intently, with a twinkle in his eye as he thought about the political statement that the county made by placing them there; it felt good, it felt right. But then the irony of the tragedies that were happening around him struck his heart. If these hurt and harmed folks would only live by the words etched in that stone monument they wouldn't be standing there up to their eyeballs on such a beautiful Spring day. In Bubbie's view, the answer to most of the drama in their wretched lives was hiding right there in plain sight.