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The Value of the Liberal Arts to the University

I have invited a friend and former colleague, Erik Benson,  to offer the first guest post on By’s Musings.  I first met Erik when I hired him at Cornerstone University in 2005. I was immediately impressed with this history instructor who brought history to life in the classroom and in the field. Less than one year later when I started CELT, the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at Cornerstone University,  he was an obvious choice to be part of the faculty leadership group.  He has continued to impress students and colleagues at CU, where in 2013, he was voted “Professor of the Year.” He is currently Associate Professor of History, at CU, and Principal of ipsative, a company focusing on educational consulting and faculty development. If you would like to find out more about ipsative, please visit their website at ipsative.

This post grew out of a challenge that I set before Erik. Since I have been working on a project attempting to represent the many cultures that come together to form a university, I asked him to describe the ideal culture of history within the university setting. He eagerly took the challenge and expanded it to set history within the broader category of humanities and the liberal arts. This is the Erik that I knew at Cornerstone University. At least once a month, he would come by my office near the close of the day, stand in the open doorway, and ask, “Do you have a minute?” I almost always said, “Yes”, even though I know that the minute would end up more like an hour. Erik always had challenging questions about higher education in general and our university in particular. Together, we were working toward solutions for the tough, intractable problems facing higher education and our students. Some of those discussions are among my most memorable memories of my days at CU.

Without further ado, here is Erik’s post.

For what it’s worth: the value of the liberal arts to the university.

The last year has seen a seemingly endless stream of controversies in higher education. Among these were proposals to channel more government aid to students studying in “STEM” (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields, at the expense of those studying in the liberal arts. In Kentucky, the governor recently suggested that students studying “French literature” should not receive any state financial aid.

Debt, jobs, and basements…
The arguments are pretty straightforward. STEM fields are more promising in terms of jobs for graduates, and there is an unmet demand in the US for people trained in these fields. Amidst public concerns about escalating college costs and the resulting student debt, governments ought to insure that they fund fields best suited to meet the needs of both employers and graduates.
There is a certain logic to this. The public concern about tuition and student debt is undeniable. Furthermore, evidence abounds that there is indeed a demand for workers in STEM fields that promise large salaries upon graduation. (In fact, there is high demand for workers in skilled trades that do not require a college degree at all. A Michigan factory owner recently told me recently that he cannot hire enough skilled tradespeople, even though he actively recruits throughout the US and abroad.) In turn, the numbers are less promising for those graduating with liberal arts degrees. The anecdote of the humanities graduate moving back into the parents’ basement has become popular lore. In sum, the desire to channel students toward STEM majors seems a perfectly reasonable response.

Not so fast…
Yet in fact this response is ill-considered. For one thing, it is based on the premise that US colleges are churning out a slew of (unemployed) liberal arts majors. As Fareed Zakaria notes in his book, In Defense of a Liberal Education, between 1971 and 2012, the number of graduates with degrees in English fell from 7.6 to 3.0 percent; the number of business graduates rose from 13.7 to 20.5 percent. Only one-third of all degrees were in fields that could be classified as “liberal arts,” and this number was matched by business and health majors alone. In short, the stories of hordes of unemployed liberal arts graduates living in their parents’ basements are exaggerated.
Beyond this dubious premise, the fact is that the liberal arts approach in American higher education has served students well. Zakaria contrasts it with European higher education systems, in which students are channeled into specific vocations well before they reach college age; those that go to college are few, and they receive a rather narrowly focused training in a field. In the US, college education has historically been more “general” in focus due to being in a dynamic, changing economy and society. In short, the liberal arts have prepared American graduates to be more responsive and flexible in a changing world.
Zakaria points to a real strength of the American liberal arts education, as both anecdotal and statistical evidence attests. Numerous studies reveal that graduates with liberal arts degrees actually have fiscally rewarding careers. One such study, published in the Chronicle of Higher Education in 2014, found that while liberal arts graduates initially lagged behind professional and pre-professional peers in salaries, over time they caught up and passed them. The study noted that this was due in no small part to graduate degrees earned by liberal arts majors, which enhanced their earning ability. (Interestingly, even in pre-professional and professional fields, a comparable percentage had a graduate degree, suggesting they too received an earnings boost from this.) Still, only the most short-sighted of people would argue a degree outside the liberal arts is a better financial bet; in fact, considering the investment a college education entails, one ought to be considering long-term earnings forecasts rather than merely the entry-level job, which seems to be the focus of the moment.

On second thought…
Why liberal arts degrees offer such long-term earning possibilities is an interesting question. The answer seems to lie in what Zakaria points out—they better prepare one for a changing environment. Vocationally focused educations prepare one for a specific job or career track that can be lucrative at the entry level, but may limit one’s advancement possibilities over time. (Put simply, one might be trained to press certain buttons, but that likely will not lead to workplace advancement.) Worse, as technological and business advances change the workplace, jobs and entire career tracks can come and go. As Thomas Friedman points out in The Earth is Flat, many programming jobs in the US have easily been outsourced to Asia, and won’t be coming back any time soon in light of the cost differentials. This is why many who train in narrowly tailored fields have found it necessary to return to college later in life—their education did not prepare them for the change. Lest we think we can anticipate much of this change, consider how many jobs and fields exist today that educators and politicians could not even fathom 20 years ago. As a senior vice president at the Association of American Colleges and Universities admitted, “We are not good at predicting what jobs are going to be required in five years and 10 years down the road.” It is simply not a reasonable expectation.
My wife’s career experience attests to many of the above points. A graduate of a liberal arts college with a major in history and international studies, she went on to earn an M.A. in Mass Communication. She since has worked in both higher education and marketing, and currently has a thriving business in content strategy and writing. Her mass communication degree offered her hands-on experience in the then-emerging field of web design and development, which cued her into the new forms of media. That said, a significant portion of the technical knowledge she gained is now outdated because of the rapid advances in the last decade. She actually points to her B.A. as being more valuable and foundational for her career. Her studies in history and global culture ingrained in her a broader, more strategic perspective. She also credits them for making her a good writer, which is her “bread and butter” today. Finally, they made her more self-aware and confident, all of which led her to easily transition between jobs and career tracks without need of returning to school. In short, she epitomizes what Zakaria says about the liberals arts—it made her responsive and adaptable in a changing world.

Making the case…
While studies exist of the earning power of the liberal arts, and many faculty can cite numerous anecdotes of successful graduates, there has been a general failure to “sell” this to politicians and the public. Many in “liberal arts” fields lack an interest in informing potential students, their parents, and the public at large the career possibilities (or even proudly resist the idea). Too often, the “case” consists of rather ethereal assertions about the value of the liberal arts, the “life of the mind,” and avoiding vocational obsession, none of which are wrong, but which are not applicable for many considering college, with its expense and commitment. In short, we need to do a better job making the case.
In my case, I have occasion to meet with prospective students and parents who visit our campus. I emphasize that the study of history offers them much in terms of “life of the mind,” but also in terms of career preparation. In addition to citing studies on earnings (which many do not know), I explain specifically what history offers to them—highly transferable skills in research, critical thinking, and communication which will be proven useful over time in a constantly changing job market. I point out that these not only work for someone who might pursue a traditional career in the field (e.g. academia), but also someone working in marketing or government. I encourage them to think of how they might pair the study of history with a major or minor in another field, such as business. I even encourage students in other majors (such as business) to meet credit requirements with an applicable history course; I’ve had a number of graduates tell me this turned out to be one of the most useful things they did in college. In short, I can show them the practical benefits of their study—and they usually come to see the value.
Ultimately, in considering the issue of financing higher education and the liberal arts, the real consideration ought not be mere cost, but value. People will pay more for something they believe is worth it; they are bothered when they feel they have paid for something that is not worth it. We in academics need to make a better case for the value of the liberal arts to students.

References:
Patricia Cohen, “A Rising Call to Promote STEM Education and Cut Liberal Arts Funding,” New York Times (22 February 2016), B1.

Thomas Friedman, The Earth is Flat (Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2006).

Beckie Supiano, “How Liberal-Arts Majors Fare over the Long Haul,” The Chronicle of Higher Education (22 January 2014). http://chronicle.com/article/How-Liberal-Arts-Majors-Fare/144133 (Accessed 1 March 2016).

Fareed Zakaria, In Defense of a Liberal Education (W.W. Norton and Co., 2015).

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Today is April 11! This is no April Fools’ Joke. We’re Back in Business

 

from Presenter Media

Can you believe it?  Today is Monday, April 11, 2016. Winter and the month of March are officially over.  We are ten days past the traditional April Fools’ Day of April 1. So this post and the four announcements contained in it are no April Fools’ Joke. You can trust them. They are for real!  Some of the announcements are not as positive as I would have liked. However, they definitely represent a positive movement that was much in doubt through most of the past year. So without further ado, let’s get right to the announcements.

from Presenter Media
from Presenter Media

This first announcement concerns my health. It is a positive announcement since we made it past March and I didn’t have any new health setbacks. In previous posts I have explained that in each March since March 2009, I have spent at least one week in a hospital with some major medical problem.

However, since last Thanksgiving, I don’t think that I have fully explained to my blog audience my current experiences. In the week before Thanksgiving, I started feeling sets of two or three, very quick 120-volt, low-amperage electric shocks in many different areas of my body. After the shocks stopped, I would then feel a burning sensation at the location of the shocks which would last from a few seconds to almost a minute. The burning sensation would then take off, traveling a nerve path to another spot in my body. The burning sensation would settle in that spot and then morph into a normal type of pain for that location. For example, I would get three shocks, followed by a burning sensation in my left shoulder blade. After a short period of time, the burning sensation would travel up through my shoulder, down my arm, past my wrist and the back of my hand, before settling in the large knuckle of my left index finger. At this point, the burning sensation would change into an arthritic pain, which would last until I could work it out by massaging my knuckle.

The electric shocks are not a new experience for me. In January 2013, I began feeling electric shocks and burning sensations like this is my left pectoral muscle. They started slowly with one or two daily. However, by mid-March, the shocks increased in frequency and intensity to such an extent that my doctors were afraid I was having a heart attack. I was rushed to the hospital. After extensive testing, it was determined that I wasn’t having heart problems. I was having a gall bladder attack. My gall bladder was completely blocked with stones and so full of infection that it was playing havoc with other parts of my body. They laparoscopically removed my gall bladder and the electric shocks immediately stopped. My neurologists suggested that the electric shocks I experienced were what is called referred pain. This suggests the pain is originating in one location, but exhibits itself elsewhere. With that history in mind, my doctors began looking for any type of problem that they could find elsewhere in my body. After many tests, they couldn’t find anything seriously wrong with me.

The pattern of six or more shocking episodes continued daily for two weeks. Then one day during the first week of December, I woke up to a new experience. After the first episode of electric shocks and the associated burning sensation traveled a nerve path to settle into its final resting place, I started feeling severe paresthesia (the sensation of numbness or pins and needles) in that limb or area of my body. When I called my GP, he asked what my blood pressure was. When I told him it was unusually high, he told me to get to the ER. Of course, it had snowed the previous evening and our car was snowed in. Thus, my wife called the local ambulance service. When the EMTs arrived my blood pressure was 210/140 with a pulse of 110, and my A-fib was making my heart do flip-flops that weren’t being controlled by my pacemaker. My whole side was also numb and tingling like pins and needles. The EMTs wrapped me and immediately loaded me into the ambulance for a ride to the ER.

from Presenter Media

I spent the next seven hours in the ER undergoing extensive testing. I had EEGs, EKGs, CAT-scans and x-rays. The ER doctor wanted to do an MRI. Although I have an MRI-compatible pacemaker, it can take days to arrange to have everyone necessary in the MRI imaging lab to conduct the MRI on me. You know you could be in trouble when the ER doctor says “You’re the most complicated and interesting patient, I have ever seen in ER.”   When the ER finally got my BP and heart palpitations under control with medications, but couldn’t control the electric shocks with additional pain and seizure medications, they sent me home with strict instructions to schedule an appointment with my neurologist and cardiologist as soon as possible. When I did see them, they increased my heart, pain and seizure medication dosages slightly again. When those changes produced only marginal results, the doctors began practicing medicine. They ordered more tests. Since two one-hour EEGs provided no useful information, my neurologist ordered a 48-hr EEG. The results of that test definitely suggested that I had brain activity when the electric shocks and burning sensations hit. The problem was that the activity was not located where the neurologists expected it be. This could have been due to the injuries my brain suffered during the several traumatic brain incidents that I have had, or to the plasticity of my brain in attempting to rewire itself to answer the demands that I keep placing on it.

My neurologist also ordered a two-test combination consisting of an NVC (Nerve Conduction Velocity) test and an EMG (Electromyogram), which provide information about abnormal conditions in one’s nervous system. In the NVC test nerves are stimulated with small impulses at one electrode while other electrodes detect the electrical impulses “down-stream” from the first electrode. If the impulses do not travel at the expected speed, then there is nerve damage in that area. In the EMG, needles are inserted in muscles in specific locations. By stimulating the muscles via these needles and measuring the response, any nerve damage can be spotted. Both tests were completely “normal.” This is good news and bad news. The good news is that I have no small or large nerve damage. The bad news is that this means my problems are most likely in my head.

from Presenter Media

As we progressed through February and March into April, I noticed one large improvement in my condition. I began having more extended periods of lucidity, when I could think and write. The shocks, burning sensations and pain have not gone away. However, I am becoming accustomed to them. After banging your head against a wall for so long, eventually you don’t feel it any more.

Thus, I am in a position to attack the large backlog of blog posts that I have accumulated, as well as the multitude of book-length manuscripts that I have outlined waiting for an opportunity to work on them. To readers of this blog, I covet your prayers and thoughts for continued long periods of clear thinking and a bountiful stream of meaningful words. 

 

from Presenter Media
from Presenter Media

Announcement No. 2 concerns the future of this blog By’s Musings.  This is the first posting for five months. At that time, I indicated that I intended to publish posts regularly. However, I wasn’t counting on the difficulties that I outlined in Announcement #1 above.  This time when I say I intend to publish posts regularly, I have taken additional steps to make sure that occurs. One of those steps is to invite a number of my friends and former colleagues to share guest posts. Later this week, the first guest post will be published. It has been written by Professor Erik Benson, from Cornerstone University. When I hired Erik in 2005, he immediately impressed me as a teacher who brought history to life in the classroom. You didn’t want to go to sleep in his classes because you never knew what you might miss. To Erik, history was not restricted to the classroom. He brought the field into the classroom and took history and the students out into the field. Over the intervening years, he has also impressed students, who voted him “Professor of the Year” in 2013. In addition, he has also impressed his colleagues as an integral part of the leadership team for the CU CELT, the Cornerstone University Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, since 2006.

The title of Erik’s guest post is “The Value of the Liberal Arts to the University.” It is already in the queue, ready to published at 5:30 am on Wednesday, April 13, while I am, hopefully, sound asleep. During my periods of lucidity noted above, I have completed the first draft of post that I have titled, “Education: A Public Good or a Private Good?”  I believe the answer to this seemingly innocuous question has deep ramifications that impact the control and cost of education in America. This refers not only to higher education, but to elementary and secondary education. I hope it will engender much discussion. It is in the queue to be published next Monday, April 18, at 5:30 am. This is an appropriate day for this posting since April 18 this year is TAX DAY!  (This is a public service announcement to remind all my readers of the source of funds for public education.)

from Presenter Media

To keep the blog publication ball rolling, I have two draft posts, entitled “My Life in an Amusement Park: Living on a Carousel and the Unit Circle Parts I and II”,  in the queue, scheduled to be published respectively on Monday, April 25 and May 2, at 5:30 am. The formula, x2 + y2 = 1, for the unit circle is the basis for much of mathematics. Surprisingly, it is also the basis for many aspects associated with a majority of amusement park rides. Who else but a mathematician would see the similarities between amusement park rides and the mathematics of the unit circle, and find them fascinating? In Part I of this post, I will explore many of the connections between the rides and the mathematics. In Part II, I will discuss why they are important in my life. Stay tuned to find out what carousels, roller coasters, tunnels of love, Tea Cup rides and the swing rides have in common, and why they are built on mutations and perturbations to the familiar formula for the unit circle.

 OOPS, I am so sorry readers, but we’ve gone far beyond the maximum number of words blogger gurus suggest for posts. For the remainder of the announcements, you will have to stay turned for the post, “We’re Back in Business, Part II.” which is in the queue to published on Friday, April 15, at 5:30 am. In that post I will cover Announcement No. 3, which concerns my coaching/consulting practice, Higher Ed By Baylis LLC, and Announcement No. 4, which deals with my website Higher Ed By Baylis. Thanks for staying with me and please come back for more.

 

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12 Days of Christmas – Lesson 2

Chapter 2 – The Fall

Lesson 2 – “I will be like the Most High.”Old Testament Lesson:

Isaiah 14: 12 – 14

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Genesis 3: 2 – 6

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

New Testament Lesson

Colossians 2: 2- 4

2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; 3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.

Galatians 4: 1 – 9

 1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. 8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

One can comprehend all one needs to know about the fall in seven words: “I will be like the most High.” There is no one like God. No one can be like God. For Lucifer to desire to be like God is the epitome of  pompous self-importance. Hannah, in I Samuel 2: 2&3, expressed the correct way to think about and approach God:  “There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. (KJV).

Satan tempted Eve with the three primary lusts listed in I John 2: 15 – 17, ” Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (KJV). Eve saw that the fruit was “good for food” (the lust of the flesh), “pleasant to the eyes” (the lust of the eyes), and  “a tree to be desired to make one wise.” (the pride of life).  At that moment, the love of the Father was not in Eve. These were the same three temptations that Satan put before Christ in Matthew 4. Eve succumbed; Christ, using the word of God, did not. 

Paul warned the church at Colossi to beware “lest any man should beguile you with enticing words”   He also encouraged the church at Galatia that by believing in Christ, we and they could become children of God, which means that we have all the benefits of being part of the family of God. If we know God and are known of God, how can we turn our backs on that inheritance and fall away from God?

 Choruses for Lesson 2:  Sing along with  Michael W. Smith on these two choruses,  Open the Eyes of My Heart, and Our God is an Awesome God.

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12 Days of Christmas – Lesson 1

Chapter 1: Creation

Lesson 1: In the beginning God

Old Testament Lesson:

Genesis 1: 1 – 4

 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (JKV)

from Graphic Stock

Nehemiah 9: 6

6 Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. (JKV)

Psalm 19: 1

 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.  (KJV)

Psalm 33: 6

6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.  (JKV)

New Testament Lesson:

John 1: 1 – 5

 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Colossians 1: 16 & 17

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Hebrews 1: 1 – 3

 1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

Genesis 1:1 sets the stage. It announces the premise upon which all is built. God began history. He “created the heaven and the earth.” Not only did God create everything, Nehemiah tells us that He continues to preserve and take care of everything. Because of this, the hosts of heaven worship Him. This strongly suggests that we also should worship and glorify Him. The Psalmist reminds us that the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows us what he has done. He did all of this by speaking it into existence. What a great God we have. Please enljoy the following video as Chris Tomlin sings How Great is Our God.

The opening verses of the Gospel of John reminds us that God has revealed Himself to us in three ways. He has revealed Himself via his creation, via scriptures and the spoken word, and via the incarnation of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Paul, in his letter to the church in Colossi, instructs the church that God created everything for His glory and pleasure. God is preeminent over all things, and all things are held together by Him .  This message is reinforced in the opening of the Epistle to Hebrew Christians. Without God, the world would fly apart. We witness that daily when we try to live our lives without God.

Hymn for Lesson 1

Our God is creator and sustainer of the universe. He is eternal. God is above all wisdom and power. Click on the following link and sing along with worship leader, Scott Reed: Above All.

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Twelve Days of Christmas

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you a special presentation concerning the Twelve Days of Christmas. There seem to be two understandings of when the Twelve Days of Christmas occur. In one understanding, the 12 days preceding Christmas are days of preparation, with “minor” gift giving on each day. In the second understanding, the 12 days represent the time between the Nativity and the Epiphany, the arrival of the Magi, with their special gifts. Since I wasn’t prepared for this special presentation prior to Christmas Day, I will go with the 12 days following Christmas.

On each of the next twelve days in the spirit of the century old tradition of a presentation of Nine Lessons and Carols, which originated at the King’s College, Cambridge, England, I will publish a post that tells the story of the history of the world, through the Christmas story. Christmas is a compound word which means “celebration of Christ.” Lessons are readings from scripture which are meant to teach us something. Carols are hymns or songs of joy, usually with a Christmas theme. Each of the twelve lessons will consist of readings from both the Old and New Testaments, followed by at least one carol. The history of the world is made up of four chapters: Creation, the Fall, Redemption and Consumation. It is one story. It is His Story.

Before we begin this special program, a word from Elaine and me.

We wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

Please celebrate with us the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, during this holiday season. 

Elaine and I can’t sing our Christmas message to you. Perhaps, I should say, you wouldn’t want me to sing at all. However, we found two people who can sing. Enjoy our musical Christmas wish with Charlotte Church and Placido Domingo, found on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gemjzIzsek

 

O Holy Night, O Night Divine.

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IS THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY AN ANACHRONISM? THANKSGIVING RECONSIDERED!

I ended my most recent post Why Organizations Need a Chief Eleemosynary Officer noting that my next post would be focused on the meaning and celebration of Thanksgiving. When I did that I did not have in mind that I would go so far as to suggest that the way we currently celebrate Thanksgiving may have lost its meaning. Has it become a chronological inconsistency?

This post is appearing  more than a month later than I had originally planned. A number of things have contributed to this delay. The most significant of those things included additional medical problems that began the Friday before Thanksgiving and have continued through the present. I can briefly described my medical concerns by saying, “The shocks are back.” I am again experiencing sensations which feel like 120-volt electric shocks in various spots on my body. I will have a more detailed description of what’s going on next calendar year, after all the medical testing is done. I hope that I can whet your appetite for my next post by quoting one doctor in the emergency room that I was forced to visit shortly after Thanksgiving, who said, “You’re the most interesting and complicated patient that I have ever met in an ER.”

Also delaying my post were five blog post announcements that I received during or shortly after the traditional Thanksgiving season.  After reading them, I just had to take time to mentally process them. These announcements or blog posts were from five very different sources. However, they all expressed something of a common theme. These emails started me thinking that we may have missed the boat with the way we currently celebrate Thanksgiving.

The first was the Thanksgiving post from Rick Warren, the famous pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, and author of “The Purpose Driven Church” and “The Purpose Driven Life.” Pastor Warren begins his post Quick Study: Be Thankful in Tough Times with Paul’s admonition to the church at Philippi: “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4 KJV). Warren, echoing Paul,  encourages Christians to be joyful! We should be joyful, not just in the good times, but always. He outlines a four-part program for a joyful life. 1) Don’t worry about anything: Jesus provides us the first step in the middle of His Sermon on the Mount: “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matthew 6:34 KJV); 2) Pray about everything:  Paul  urged the Christians in Philippi to bring all their concerns to God: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (Phiippians 4:6 KJV); 3) Thank God in all things: The previously mentioned verse reminds us to include thanks in every prayer. However, Paul was even more specific in his instructions to the church in Thessalonica: ” In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (I Thessalonians 5:18 KJV)); 4) Think about the right things: Paul concluded his instructions to the church in Philippi with the following counsel: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8 KJV). Thus Warren’s post reminded me that Thanksgiving is not seasonally dependent. It is a full-time responsibility for every Christian. Worry is a non-starter. We are to think about the good things, but we are to be thankful for everything in our lives, not just the good things. The immediate conclusion: Thanksgiving must not be relegated to one day a year.

The second announcement  was for Tara Fall’s Thanksgiving post in her FindingStrengthtToStandAgain’sBlog Overcoming obstacles with Optimism. Tara is a beautiful and mentally tough young woman who can’t remember what she or anyone else looks like. She suffers from prosopagnosia, face blindness., the after effect of a very serious stroke some years ago. Face blindness is a neurological problem in which the individual does not have the ability to recognize or distinguish faces. How would you react to the fact that you could not pick your spouse, parent or child out of a crowd, without hearing them speak?  Cheerfulness and optimism are not usually the first two words that come to mind. Please do not get me wrong. Tara is not cheerful because she can’t recognize her husband or children. She is cheerful because she has the opportunity to experience the love and presence of her family. Tara’s Thanksgiving post was entitled “Challenge: Share Your Gratitude.”  She began her post referencing Facebook’s MOG-Month of Gratitude. In this new Thanksgiving tradition, Facebook users were to do a daily post for thirty straight days sharing something about which they should be grateful. Since I am not on Facebook, I was not aware of their proposal for this new custom. I have no idea how many Facebook users participated. My hat’s off to those who did. For those of us not adventurous enough, or who for other reasons chose not to participate in Facebook, Tara had another challenge for us.  She asked us to think of a few people who touched our lives in some way and to write them a hand written note of gratitude. I close this section of my post with Tara’s own words, because she says it best: “I’m asking you, challenging you, to contact someone who has touched your life. Say thank you. Expressing gratitude and impacting lives should not be restricted only to the thirty days in November.”

The third is the Thanksgiving post of Linda McDaniel Smith in her blog “TheVillageSmith” entitled The Miracle of Squanto; God Moves in Mysterious Ways.  Linda is a Christian blogger who writes about books, movies, life in general and her life in particular, and God’s interactions with this world and its people. If you enjoy down home writing about real people, you would enjoy reading TheVillageSmith. In Linda’s Thanksgiving post, she introduces us to Squanto, a little known hero in the story of the Pilgrim founding of the Plymouth colony. She begins her post by quoting a Wall Street Journal oped piece by Eric Metaxas, the New York Times #1 bestselling author of Bonhoeffer, Miracles,Seven Women, Seven Men, and Amazing Grace.

“His [Squanto] story is astonishing, even raising profound questions about God’s role in American history”.

Squanto is credited with saving the Pilgrims from starvation and freezing. Can you imagine their surprise when this young, native American came walking out of the forest near the Plymouth colony and introduced himself in perfect English?  He went on to teach the Pilgrims how to plant corn and how to survive the harsh New England winters. He was also instrumental in arranging a peace treaty between the English and the Native Americans. How did he know the English language? By 1619, he had already crossed the Atlantic four times. He, along with four other Native Americans, were captured by the English explorer George Weymouth in 1605. They were taken to England, where they were taught English and became a sensation among London’s society. He returned to his native land, only to be captured by another English excursion, taken to Spain, where he was sold into slavery. He was helped to escape by Franciscan Monks. He learned about Christ from the Franciscans and became a Christian. He again returned to American in time to greet the pilgrims. Linda closes her post with the following Thanksgiving greeting:

Happy Thanksgiving. God raised up a native man out of the wilderness, educated him, sent him across the world, and brought him back for His purpose. Sadly, Squanto lost his people, but gained a nation, America.

In spite of the injustices done to him, Squanto helped the English settlers survive and thrive in his land. He had a thankful heart, because through them he found the one true God. He no longer had to live out his name, which meant “Wrath of God.”

The fourth Thanksgiving post, How to Be Thankful For Your Life by Changing Just One Word, was from James Clear, one of the world’s foremost experts on habits. James begins his short post by asking readers to think about all the things they have to do. What do you have to do today? What do you have to do this week? What do you have to do to get ready for Christmas? James claims that this perspective is all wrong and by changing just one word individuals can reclaim the joy of life. He challenges readers to “imagine changing just one word” in those nagging questions.

 You don’t “have” to. You “get” to.

What do you get to do today? What do you get to do this week? What do you get to do to get ready for Christmas? Suddenly tasks are no longer burdens, they are opportunities. James closes his post by reminding us that, “So often, the things we view as work are actually the rewards.” What rewards do you get to reap in the coming days?

The fifth blog post Days of Gratitude was from the Oliver Sacks Foundation announcing a 12 Days of Gratitude campaign honoring the memory of Dr. Oliver Sacks. Dr. Sacks was a world renowned scientist, physician, author and professor of neurology at the NYU School of Medicine. He was the New York Times Best Selling author of the books Awakenings  and The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat. The foundation noted that this was “a remarkable year, one of sadness and joy, but above all, thankfulness for Dr. Sacks’s full and remarkable life.” Dr, Sacks last book, Gratitude, was published this November, just months after his death on August 30, 2015. It brought  ” together in one volume four gemlike essays written over the last two years of his life and first read by millions worldwide in The New York Times.”  These four inspiring essays were written in the final months of his life. In these essays Dr. Sacks reflects on growing old, coming to terms with mortality, and—most importantly—being thankful for the gift of living one’s own life. The Foundation challenges readers to think about the things for which they are grateful and to share those thoughts about life, death and gratitude on the Foundation’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

I challenge my readers to be grateful for what they have and what they get to do. Thanksgiving Day and the month of November and Facebook’s MOG (Month Of Gratitude) is over. However, it is not too late to pick up a pen and paper and write someone in your life a note of gratitude. It’s not too late to thank someone personally for their acts of kindness toward you. It’s not too late to change the title on your TO DO LIST to GET TO DO LIST. I challenge my readers to post something for which they are grateful in the Reply or Comment portion of this blog.

Celebrating Thanksgiving one day a year is not bad. (People who know me, know that I enjoy turkey and stuffing as much, if not more, than the next guy.)  However, forgetting about giving Thanks and being grateful the remainder of the year is wrong. Let’s celebrate Thanksgiving all year long! Be ready always with those two magical words, “Thank you.”