While the Muses of Mathematics and I were ever hardly on speaking terms, strangely enough Geometry was a welcome bedfellow. Perhaps it is the logic, or even the relatively simple task of rote learning. Either way, once ingested it made perfect sense. Calculus however, to this day, and much like ET, resides elsewhere, in a vast hinterland, known to exist, but essentially out of reach. Nevertheless, it is basic knowledge, to the nth power. But give me the simple, the straightforward, and clear the runway for takeoff!
What is not so difficult a proposition is to, for instance, Live And Let Live, or to Fight Tooth And Nail, the former a benificent quality to which all should aspire, the latter a call to arms, which although painstaking, and giving, it remains a necessary construct of the human condition, from time to time.
We all eat, breathe, sleep and sneeze; you get the picture. Although these are uniting habits, in the sense of species specific of course, the Joneses may evidence certain variations on the various themes from the habits of the Smiths, just as say the 1% ers differ in practice and custom from the socially and economically hungry and deprived; but one example of the disparate realities co-existing in our nation. But take the life of an ant. Although its reality seems rather simple, upon inspection we observe a pattern of exquisite cooperation, a sort of One For All and All For One, with apologies here to Switzerland and Al Dumas. But life of course is not always so simple and neat. Youch.
Current doings in the U.S. are informative. Firstly, and notwithstanding media pitch and/or political playacting, simple logic discloses that the protests are not all peaceful, though it is presumed, and hoped, that the majority of voicers have only peaceful intent. Looting, arson, assault and yes, even homicide, are not the collegial acts of the peaceful horde, and this is so whether committed by the worker, or the queen bee. Criminal disruptions in order to seize the moment, no matter the character of the perp, are attempts to sow anarchy on the one hand, or tyranny on the other. Neither is America. After all, the purpose of a Congress is not to control but to represent and to give hearing to all sides. What does it matter if an individual would Stand For The Flag and Kneel For The Cross, or Kneel For The Flag and Stand For The Cross? Think about it. Both are worthy sentiments, and acts. And then so too, having considered the other guy's sentiment, does it not seem we have more in common that not? Since the days of the Redcoats countless lives have been sacrified, (think about that too), so that we might all continue to express our opinions, grievances and bellyaches, while bathing in the blessings of a free people.
And Cancellers, bear in mind that Freedom of Speech must needs be preceded by Freedom of Thought, each a birthright. The playground is large enough for all of us, save the bully, whose aims and insidious acts must be dealt with and defeated. A desire to dominate in the name of human rights is about as contradictory as teaching the principles of quantuum physics to a first grader, or to me. Let the well intentioned be heard. If not everyone suffers, and we are thus derailed from moving forward. And this seemingly elusive standard can and must be given reach, regardless of party affiliations. And that ain't calculus.