Posted by
peripheral on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 6:47:44 AM
From My Perspective - - -
Calibration is a word that has been in the news recently. It means: 1)
to determine, check, or rectify the graduation of (any instrument
giving quantitative measurements); 2) to divide or mark with
gradations, graduations, or other indexes of degree, quantity, etc., as
on a thermometer, measuring cup, or the like; 3) to determine the
correct range for (an artillery gun, mortar, etc.) by observing where
the fired projectile hits; 4) to plan or devise (something) carefully
so as to have a precise use, application, appeal, etc.: a sales
strategy calibrated to rich investors. When the President chose comment
on the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., this
well-scripted man departed from his use of a teleprompter to draw a
conclusion that was lacking in detail and fact. By saying the Cambridge
Police “acted stupidly” when they arrested his Professor friend, he
needlessly inflamed the incident. In his attempt to back-track from
what he had said, the President commented: “I should have calibrated my
words differently.” Once again we are privy to the nuanced world of
government-speak (Nuanced means: a subtle or slight degree of
difference, as in meaning, feeling, or tone; a gradation; expression or
appreciation of subtle shades of meaning, feeling, or tone). To
ameliorate this situation, the President has invited the Policeman and
the Professor to the White House for a Beer. Is that transferable as a
solution for the tensions in the world – Drink More Beer? I doubt it!
The United States General Services Administration maintains a Bureau of
Standards and Measurements. It is the place where The Standard is
maintained for everything measurable – screw threads, rulers, yarn,
resistance of grease to water, polyester fiber content, Opacity of
Textile Materials to Light of Visible Wavelengths, and the list goes on
almost endlessly. The point is – there is a standard that is inviolate
and non-amendable. It is the absolute standard by which everything else
is measured. If for some reason The Standard becomes compromised, then
subjectivism enters and we no longer know or have an Absolute Standard.
Ultimately, chaos would ensue. We have an expression “moving the
goal-posts” that simply means: “The figurative use that alludes to the
perceived unfairness in changing the goal one is trying to achieve
after the process one is engaged in has already started.” In practical
terms, it makes it more difficult to achieve the goal, or speak
definitively, or function purposefully.
In May 2004, Cal Thomas posted a column in the Jewish World Review
commenting an the changing standard for marriage in our nation. He
wrote: “The Book of Judges…said it best: In those days there were no
kings and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Once that shift
has taken place in sufficient numbers, once we become indifferent to
immutable truths, the floodtide is not a matter of if but when.
Legally, the shift began in 1993 when the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled
that barring same-sex couples from marrying might violate the state
constitution's prohibition on sexual discrimination and must be
justified by a compelling reason. Morally, the earthquake occurred much
earlier. The shift from personal responsibility, accountability,
putting the greater good before personal pleasure, affluence and
feelings, and what once was known as the fear of God began following
World War II. Consumption and pleasure replaced self-control and acting
on behalf of the general welfare. Trying to remind us of the benefits
of restraint in 1979…late Bishop Fulton J. Sheen delivered an address
in Washington in which he asked how a football field is defined. By its
boundaries, he said. There are now no boundaries in America. Any rule
is potentially viewed as oppressive and any law - whether legal or
moral - is up for debate, negotiation and overturning if it impedes a
single individual from fulfilling his or her desire.”
In Deuteronomy 5:1-6, there is a clear declaration: “Moses summoned all
Israel and said: Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your
hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. The Lord our God
made a covenant with us…with all of us who are alive here today. The
Lord spoke to you…And He said: I am the Lord your God…” Following these
words are the reiteration of the Ten Commandments – God’s Standard for
what we are to believe about God, and what duties God requires of man.
If one chooses to ignore God’s Standards, he does so to his own peril,
and chaos results. Consider these things with me.