Your SuperPower: Infallibility?

Infallibility would be something, wouldn't it? For those following the news, the Pope was hard pressed to explain himself recently when he "enraged Muslims in a speech a week ago in Germany quoting 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who said everything the Prophet Mohammad brought was evil "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." Not to parse doctrine, (why would an infallible Pope have to soft-peddle or apologize?) I can't help but wrestle with infallibility for myself.

To be truly infallible a person would be incapable of failure or err. Wow, what I wouldn't give for that. To never make a mistake? Geez. It would seem, on the surface, a charmed life, eh? (Imagine a politician or [other] salesman who might be infallible--potent stuff!) Talk about someone to be trusted. "I'm putting my nest egg where Bob the Infallible banks, his investments are infallible." What a spouse an infallible person might make.

Then again, being infallible would be a tough role. It would be challenging to bite my tongue and resist saying, "I told you so" all the time. It would be frustrating when people ignored my advice or did not follow-through on my recommendations. It would just flat be tough being right all the time.

I guess I'm a person who revels in my mistakes. I learn from them. They're what make me...well, human. How could I learn anything if I were incapable of making mistakes to learn from? What a conundrum.

And while it might be nice to lean on an infallible person sometimes, I think they'd get to be tiresome company. I like a good hearty debate with friends. I wallow in the gray matter between the black and white of things. An infallible person would not see any grayscale, would they? They'd see (and say) it like it is, and that would be that. (Come to think of it, I've known too many people who must imagine themselves to be infallible...hmmm.)

I guess I don't envy the Pope, or anyone else who's burdened with the expectation of infallibility. Sure, a fella could hedge, maybe, and say, "Well, I'm only infallible in matters of X," but would that really buy you any slack? (I have my doubts, but when it comes to some definitions and labels, I'm something of an absolutist.) If I had to carve out my niche of infallibility, what could it be in? What would I want it to be in? Absolute certainty is attractive to some people, but...really...why? Where's the fun in that?

My greatest challenge is parenting, but I sure would not want to be an infallible parent, unless I could be a secretively infallible parent. Pity the child who had to live within the shadow of a know-it-all parent.

So I guess I should take more stock in being less-than-perfect, for not necessarily knowing everything. There's something to be said for being a work in progress. Those days when I wish I had all the answers, when I'm floundering over indecisions, I should just reckon with being human, after all.

Sensei Fumio Demura visited my farm this weekend, as part of the Valley Center Rec Commission Dojo's weekend of workshops. He is my father-in-law's sensei, and my father in law has been involved in karate for over 25 years.

I've met him and been on the outskirts of his visits and trainings for most of ten years, and I've noted something remarkable about him. I think it's characteristic of all truly great people: humility.

Here's a man who's given his life to his art, who travels the world on a never-ending whirlwind of training seminars, honors, etc... (they probably don't even allow him to use frequent flyer points, but if they did, he'd have millions of 'em). He has trained celebrities, movie stars, etc... The word is etc!

Still, when he's not out there training on the ring or mat or whatever, he's like Jesus was reported to be. He takes time to sit with children. He makes small talk with everyone. He once made me an oragami boat after I'd folded a frog for him--I still have the boat.

This is a man who could literally kill with a flick of his wrist, but he is kind, gentle, down-to-earth. There is much to be learned of true greatness, and I'm learning it seems to be infused with sincerity and humility. I may not have the patience for karate, but I'd like to think of the sensei's (is it plural?) as role models.

I've got issues

Currently, I'm wading through students' bids for research topics, controversial issues for argumentative/persuasive writing. I'm surprised at the duplication, especially when I warned folks that no two students would have the same issue approved. I find this bizarre, for it seems to me that everything has its controversy.

Lately, I've been exposed (via NPR, check it out) to several issues related to food and fuel. For example, we acknowledge being petroelum dependent, yet we do little/nothing to alter our lifestyles (still drive SUV's, still not supporting alternative energies, still shun public transportation, etc...). AND, more importantly, we seldom reckon with underlying uses of energy...I heard that 20% of our nation's energy needs are spent in the transportation of food products. The source suggested analyzing our own cupboards and refrigerators. They cited Iowa as an example: more than half of the average consumer's food was brought 1500 miles or more in order to show up on the table in Iowa. That is exceptionally silly, since all of the food products could (in season) be readily available locally, for Iowa is , of course, a fertile and productive region.

So what gives in Iowa? What grows in Iowa? Corn. Not ears of corn ending up as 'corn on the cob,' either. Most of the corn produced in Iowa is processed into....drumroll please...high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Runner up for corn usage? Feeder cattle. Both HFCS and feeder cattle are horrificly wasteful, in terms of the amount of corn needed to get results. The ratio is something like 10 bushels of grain to yield 1 pound of meat. (That, in itself, is another issue--the way western diets are so meat-centered and thusly wasteful.) Those Iowa corn farmers are not often the hayseed, overall wearin' individualists we once knew. They are becoming large corporate enterprises with names seldom demonized: ADM, Monsanto, etc.

I operate a billing service for natural gas used in irrigation. I know quite well that it takes a good deal of natural gas (ie petro-resources) to water the corn that is then squandered when produced. It is not uncommon for a farmer who has only 1-2 circles of corn to use--get this--$100,000 in natural gas in a SINGLE MONTH. That figure is not even considered above, when I cited 20% of energy usage going to food transportation.

...so, what I'm saying here (in a fashion not to be modelled by my student readers) is that we are wasteful, of course, but more importantly, we are not mindful of our waste (in either petrofuels or food value). The media has our attention fixed on pump price, but there is much, much more to consider. Once one cocks a suspicious brow at the reflection, it is both painful and difficult to accept. "Oh, it's those rich oil barons." is much more simple than, "Oh my, it's me!"