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Friday, May 11, 2012

"Kernel"

Sometimes life is a scavenger hunt.  We want grand epiphanies, but we usually spend our lives looking for kernels of truth, trying to assemble those kernels into rational order.  At least some of us do.  Sometimes I feel everybody else is content with “the truth as we know it” and maintaining the status quo.  Doing something would require effort, so let someone else deal with it and let them make any necessary sacrifices.

Finding kernels of truth is made harder when people are intent on hiding facts.  How do we really know what’s going on in the world?  Conspiracy theories wouldn’t exist if there weren’t cover ups.  That doesn’t mean all conspiracy theories are true, but that doesn’t mean they’re all false either.  The theories exist because the government documents action plans for swamp gas instead of trusting the public with the truth.

I had sex ed in 6th grade.  In the days of black and white film strips, I learned about my internal plumbing, egg, sperm, etc.  Okey dokey.  I wasn’t traumatized by any of it, and it didn’t make me interested in having a baby.  The only interesting aspect of the lessons was that the boys were segregated to the male teacher’s room while I went with the girls to the ancient spinster’s room.  Why?  Were the boys getting the same information that I was getting?

When the spinster was done with us, I went back to Mr. Strnad’s class with the other girls.  He passed out index cards and said that if we had any questions, we could write them down anonymously on the cards and he would answer them.  Well yes, as it turned out, I did have a question because while I understood all those internal plumbing diagrams, I didn’t understand how the sperm got in there in the first place.  As far as I knew, it was a closed system.  The best I could figure it, the man must put the sperm in a glass and the woman must drink it, because how else could it get inside?  I know Mr. Strnad read my question because I was the only one who wrote in green ink, and I saw him read it before putting it back in the pile.  I was both confused and indignant.  It was a good question, and I thought he should’ve answered it, so I told on him to my dad, but Dad just thought it was funny and laughed.  In answer to my persistence, he said “How would I know?  We just found you in the garden one day and decided to keep you.”  I may be a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them.  I had younger brothers and had seen a direct correlation between Mom getting fat followed by a baby, so I complained to Sis about how the adults were trying to hide things from me…

“NO WAY!!!”  Yes, Sis insisted, it really did go that way.  “NO!?”  Yes, really.

So, when I hear about conspiracy theories, I pause and listen.  People who can lie about the birds and bees can lie about anything including Santa Claus, assassination plots, UFO’s, and extramarital affairs.  Long before 9/11, I listened to someone (whom I quite honestly thought was a nut job) telling me about Bush Jr.’s plans to get us into a Middle Eastern war as a way to funnel money into Halliburton.  My initial response was about as receptive as my response to the birds and bees, but as it turns out, the guy was right.  All we can do is continue our scavenger hunt for kernels of truth, whether it be about world events, what happens between people when the door is closed, or maybe string theory.  Alright, I have to admit it, I haven’t bought into string theory yet – but there are other mysteries out there, and we’ll only learn answers when we ask a lot of questions.

26 comments:

  1. Such a pretty design! I just love those colors and the illustration has nice depth and glow.

    As for the rest, I am a bit of conspiracy theorist myself. Not for all the regular conspiracy theory stuff (aliens and stuff), but I'm pretty well convinced that despite who we elect, the US is "really" run by a small group of very white, very rich men and that's just the way it is.

    Although I'm sure they prefer the right side of the political spectrum, my guess is neither has much of an impact on them. And I'm just going to stop there before I write a novella in your comment section! :)

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  2. I should have read this on Monday morning with a fresh brain, instead of with the worn out Friday brain that I currently have.

    Anyway, sometimes the world we live in seems surreal; like, who can make up this stuff? Are we going go wake up from a dream, like the characters on that Bob Newhart show?

    Sometimes I make a little noise; write letters, ask questions, express my opinions, vote, get mad...
    And sometimes I maintain the status quo as you have observed in many.

    Mostly, I'm optimistic and hanging on to it. Life is so short. Things are constantly changing, though. Maybe it's because just as the conspirators have implemented their plans, other conspirators come along and change the game... and we all react.

    I like the egg and sperm story. I recall my reaction when I figured it out. "Ohhhhh...."

    Great artwork. From a lay person's view, it looks like symmetry without symmetry. :)

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  3. You are very right. Even though it's not necessarily a conspiracy as such, the world, and particularly the powers to be, hide the truth whenever they feel uncomfortable with it - and that seems to be all the time. Funnel money to Halliburton? Of course, that was the sole goal of the president at the time - to funnel as much money to his friends before his time was up. But it still marvels me that the education related to reproduction is still hidden with so many myths. What is the big deal? I have never understood that. It should have been the most natural thing in the world. Thanks for another excellent post - and great illustration.

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  4. Ha! Now come on Linda. There are just certain things that civilized people don't talk about and the topic of the birds and the bees is right up there with why maiden Aunt Bessie has lived with a woman "friend" all her adult life, bodily functions after eating baked beans and why we shouldn't wear white after Labor Day. Where would we be without life's mysteries?

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  5. ....oops 2 grown up kids later I think I missed out on the birds and the bees talk Linda ;0) My son is very into conspiracy theories and spends many hours trying to convince me. I'm open to any ideas. But hey Linda, you know me I still believe in Father Christmas ;0) Love your riddle of an illustration! Have a conspiracy free weekend my friend,
    Jane x

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  6. Hi, sorry I haven't been visiting, I have missed so much. I hope that you are well and finding many kernels of truth ;)

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  7. This was a great, balanced post. The last paragraph made me laugh. Not about the war - that was a long way from funny - but about string theory. BTW, I've heard some of the kids talk on the bus. I catch one right outside a high school. They certainly know and talk about the birds and the bees!

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  8. Linda, reading your posts is always a good way to exercise the brain. Well, if hiding facts about the birds and the bees is a normal thing where you are, imagine what it's like for us over here in the Eastern side of the world. Taboo would be putting it mildly and I think I spent a good deal of my childhood believing that babies are magically put inside mommy's belly by God. Never once my parents told me about how it works and never in my life I was given a sex ed. I just had a very amused friend who gave away the secret when I just entered my teen year. God knows how she found out about it in the first place! :D

    Anyway, great art to accompany the post! oxx

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  9. As Lily Tomlin said in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, "No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up."

    I thoroughly enjoy the suspension of disbelief when it comes to art & play of all sorts, but I get very impatient with evasiveness & manipulative nonsense in politics & policy. I see through plenty of it, but as with bugs in the kitchen, the ones you can see are the least of the problem!

    In the end I'm always left with a lot of question marks... not usually as attractive as yours!

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  10. Thanks everybody! Glad to see I'm not the only one who looks at the world with cynical eyes, though I don't think I've gotten quite as cynical as Lily Tomlin :)

    I was the first class that got sex education in school, so I guess they were experimenting with my classmates and me. Sometimes I think the greater mystery is why I didn't figure out at least a little of this out on my own when I knew adults giggled and rastled behind closed doors and I'm sure some of the animals in the woods must've been doing it. Such innocence! :)

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  11. Great post. Since I think human beings are innately conspiratorial, I agree. Happy hunting! ;)

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  12. This is one reason I don't put much faith in news media. And I have no patience with "fake people".

    My youngest son is currently in 6th grade sex ed. I never had the curriculum myself. My friend who was raised on a farm explained it all to me in second grade. I didn't believe her.

    I love the colors and design in your illustration!

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  13. "Kernel of truth" ---what an excellent connection you made with this week's topic! The question mark looks almost 3D against the patterned background.

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  14. Ancient spinsters. Ha! My marriage certificate states that I was a former spinster. We got married in Jamaica. Spinster my a$#!

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  15. LOL Sharon! Thanks for the comments everybody!!

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  16. I had to take a good look to see if you hid any clues or answers in your illustration, but for now will have to be content with the explanation that "The truth is out there." Meanwhile, life continues to fascinate with all its mysteries...
    Hope you're having a good week, and remember that Santa will indeed be making the rounds again this year, now that the world won't be ending on 12/21! ;o)

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  17. Hiding clues in the art sounds like a great idea. I wish I had thought of it. A good idea for another time. Thanks Michele!

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  18. Lovely illustration - nice colors. And a perfect fit for the topic 'kernel of thruth'!

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  19. Your illustration this week is a departure of sorts from your usual posts -but I like it very much. Its fun with a vintage vibe. Wonderful insight, too, regarding truth and knowledge -the two should not be mutually exclusive.

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  20. Sometimes I like to change things up. To tell the truth, this art wasn't my original plan, but it seemed to want to exist and was fun to make. Thanks for the comments!!

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  21. I was thinking that the image would make a great piece in a quilt! :) Love your blog posts! :)

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  22. Thanks Indigene! I wonder what all those question marks on a quilt would do for dreams? :)

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  23. Thanks Linda!...This was a great start to my day...I love reading your posts..this one was particularly funny (Now I've said that I feel like a little sniggering boy)...maybe it was the brilliant first paragraph or the funny number four (snigger)...whatever it was it was as good if not better than any magazine article I have read for a while.

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  24. "Conspiracy theory!" Ha! Ha! I never thought of it that way, but you could be right!! Great post, Linda!! And I love the colorful illustration too!

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  25. It just wouldn't be right if I couldn't make at least one boy snigger! Thanks for the comments!!!

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  26. Very engaging story, Linda. I had to laugh a lot. And that is a nice bright question mark too. Job well done as always.

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