What a great story this is! Let me add my congratulations and birthday wishes.
http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=27603084-7249-473d-bd03-7463ddadfeec
snip
Tribute to Father Cullen
By Dave Waddell, Windsor Star
Published: Wednesday, October 29, 2008
With a teaching and coaching career that lasted nearly a half century at Assumption Secondary School, Father Ronald Cullen watched a whirlwind of change take place over that time.
For the many he counseled, from the future pro athletes to state Supreme Court judges to the plain old solid citizens he valued as much as any, the lessons learned from a blunt-talking Catholic priest have helped form the blueprint of their lives.
Monday at the Fogolar Furlan Club many of them will gather to say thank-you to 93-year-old Father Cullen with a night in his honour.
"I'm going to enjoy meeting a lot of people I haven't talked to in many years," said Father Cullen, who now resides in Toronto.
"Once you know it's for charity, you jump right in."
In addition to honouring Father Cullen, the dinner is aimed at raising funds to help the University of Windsor Lancers men's hockey team spend a week working on a Habitat for Humanity project in New Orleans.
The idea for the project and the evening in Father Cullen's honour came from Lancer coach and Assumption graduate Kevin Hamlin.
"This is an opportunity to share and hear the story of Father Cullen," Hamlin said. "At 93, sometimes we just don't know how many more opportunities we'll have to say thank-you.
"He played an important role in so many lives. I can't think of a more appropriate honour than to say thank-you and at the same time raise money to help the less fortunate.
"Father Cullen was about giving people life lessons and that's what we're trying to do with this trip to New Orleans."
Showing posts with label character building. Show all posts
Showing posts with label character building. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
McCain's war record
I was going to respond to something I heard on a talk show about the left attacking McCain's war record. I wanted to read what they actually are saying, but ran into biggest asshole employee Todd and company's jamming of my computer access this morning (it has been going on again for some days on and off.... it's fairly predictable because these are astrology trolls and whenever a planet goes retrograde, etc they act up because they *have to * *sniff sob* in order to *save the world* *sniff snort* and *restore the balance*. They disgust me. So, anyway, I did not get to read the actual criticism of McCain. I am assuming that it is something like "just because he was active duty and POW does not mean he's more qualified to be President."
No, but here is where it is a major character differentiator, even though McCain is too modest and tongue tied (his "oration challenged" often, hopefully that will improve with time and verbal confidence). McCain had connections, being as his father was very high in the military. The Viet Cong considered releasing him at several points in order to look good. This is while they are still torturing him and his colleagues, mind you. But they thought they would do the right thing and let go the kid of a big USA military guy. McCain turned down the offers for early release. Yes, he could have got "early" release (after years of already being tortured and captive) but McCain turned it down. Why? First, there is a military code of conduct. There is a pecking order that military guys obey, where the lowest rank and longest prisoner service member gets first dibs at being released. McCain has enormous honor and would not let himself be released before others. Second, he would not let his dad's influence have any bearing. He's not an elitist like some I could mention.
If anything what I have just pointed out is of enormous credit and character reference to his being more qualified to be President than really anyone I can think of right now. Young weasels with big mouths we have in abundance. A man who let himself be tortured and prisoner for additional years rather than stomp on an underling to get out of POW earlier is the type of guy who makes conscientious and wise, character based, strong decisions as President.
No, but here is where it is a major character differentiator, even though McCain is too modest and tongue tied (his "oration challenged" often, hopefully that will improve with time and verbal confidence). McCain had connections, being as his father was very high in the military. The Viet Cong considered releasing him at several points in order to look good. This is while they are still torturing him and his colleagues, mind you. But they thought they would do the right thing and let go the kid of a big USA military guy. McCain turned down the offers for early release. Yes, he could have got "early" release (after years of already being tortured and captive) but McCain turned it down. Why? First, there is a military code of conduct. There is a pecking order that military guys obey, where the lowest rank and longest prisoner service member gets first dibs at being released. McCain has enormous honor and would not let himself be released before others. Second, he would not let his dad's influence have any bearing. He's not an elitist like some I could mention.
If anything what I have just pointed out is of enormous credit and character reference to his being more qualified to be President than really anyone I can think of right now. Young weasels with big mouths we have in abundance. A man who let himself be tortured and prisoner for additional years rather than stomp on an underling to get out of POW earlier is the type of guy who makes conscientious and wise, character based, strong decisions as President.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Special message for young people
The reading of books has diminished as both a character building activity or for recreation. Also, when books are read, they are read for different reasons than they used to be. Today books are mostly read for "escapism" and "entertainment," as in the Harry Potter novels. There's nothing wrong with that. But I think many of you young people (high schoolers, college students, and all in your twenties and thirties) have been cheated from one very valuable service of having read one or two books that really transform and inspire you.
Notice that I said one or two books. A well balanced person, whether having gone far in the education system or not, could usually point to one or two books (beside the Bible) that had a large part in shaping their character and providing inspiration. By inspiration I do not mean the spiritual mumble jumble that so many freak fake books peddles today. By inspiration I mean that often one's career, vocation or special interest in a "cause" to pursue comes from exposure to one or two books that really spoke to you. It's not the same as being a literature snob (I know a lot of them) who pride themselves on reading a lot of books. And it's not the same as finding some spiritual "answer book." I know too many of that type. Rather, I mean that a normal person reads a number of good books and one or two of them have a seminal influence in shaping for the better that person's character.
The greatest example that is a giant in American history is the book by Harriet Beecher Stowe, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," which is an anti-slavery novel that was published in 1852. It became the best selling novel of the 19th century. Let me repeat that so you grasp how huge that was: Stowe's anti-slavery novel, published before the Civil War, became the best selling novel in the hundred years between 1800-1900! It is one of the reasons the public agreed with the government to go to war-the Civil War-as the Union opposed the continuation of slavery in the USA as advocated by the Confederate states. The only book to outsell Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in the 19th century was the Bible.
Several generations of Americans were moved by this book and had their character formed accordingly. For many people this was the only novel they read at all during that century. It's impact was enormous and many unsung heroes had their character and morality shaped by having read that book.
A second example is "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair. Sinclair is a huge socialist and the irony is that he wrote this expose of the dirt and corruption in the food processing business, specifically Chicago meat packing business, in order to trash capitalism and promote socialism. But it resonated in a way that he never imagined and was a sensation that revolutionized food and drug cleanliness and quality standards in the USA. After reading this book the public demanded some protection from the government and in 1906 the "Pure Food & Drug Act" and the "Meat Inspection Act" were passed. We literally would not have the quality of food and drug we have today (such as it is lately, but that's another problem) and the Food and Drug Administration without this book having been written. Ha, ha, instead of producing lots of little socialists, Sinclair's book produced the first generation of food and drug consumer advocates.
John Steinbeck's book "The Grapes of Wrath," published in 1939, is a mainstay of literature classes. But I mention it because it informed many of your grandparents in terms of their consciousness of the agricultural crisis in the depression produced in large part by poor and exploitative farming practices. This is an example of a novel about poor people during this time in history that informed many of your grandparents who became the first generation of those who understood the need for good land management and stewardship. During the dust bowl and the Depression farmers were not doing even the most rudimentary activities to protect and renew the very soil that they planted, things that are taken for granted today in a large part because of this book. "The Grapes of Wrath" was also a landmark book in looking at rural poverty. In a way Steinbeck wrote a book like Dickens did about industrial urban poverty in England.
My generation was hugely influenced by John Howard Griffin's book "Black Like Me," published in 1961. It caused a sensation as the author, a white man, disguised himself as a black man and documented what he experienced. This book more than any other book informed the character of the white people who read the book or who saw coverage of it on the news. Americans tend to not react to militant exposes and manifestos, but they sure understand a raw deal to an average guy when they see it from "the inside." The author was vilified by many racists for bringing the truth into the public eye in a way that could not be ignored, marginalized or denied.
On the other extreme, here is a quiet little book that was constantly checked out and read in my high school libary. "Cheaper by the Dozen," written in 1948 by husband and wife Frank Gilbreth, Jr and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, was about a loving household with a dozen children. What resonated with so many of my peers in the late 1960's about this book is that both authors were scientists, but also having a large calling to have children! It is too bad that books like this were overrun by militant feminism who made it a "career or children" choice in the public square. It became more of a joke, or even source of embarrassment, to have many children at all, and the message of this fine book has been lost today. Now women brag about their "careers" as stand alone accomplishments, done by "deferring" having children. This book was so charming and it was no novel, it was real.
These are a few examples from my personal experience and observation about how one or two books that are honest and written with integrity can not only influence the social agenda of the day, but reach thousands or millions of people and contribute to their formation of character.
I recommend that you, dear young people, take some of the time away from the recreational or self-help/so called spiritual guru reading and ask people you admire what books shaped their character. I think your grandparents would love being asked that question, and might even faint in amazement. Do some research and read books such as the ones I mentioned here and see how they resonate. Avoid the self serving political and agenda driven books of today until you have read some of the classics that you identify as being good for you. This way you have a quality standard for more modern works that you might read.
Then you'll understand why I'm disgusted with most of the fiction and non-fiction of today LOL. It's all agenda driven rather than purposeful. Good and true authors write with a purpose, noble if possible (even if as Sinclair did, it went in a different direction tee hee), but not to manipulate the readers. Good authors point and report, and their fine work speaks for itself. Agenda driven writers try to manipulate perception and that is a horror to both truth and character development (by character I mean the reader's character, not book's characters). Most literature today, both fiction and non-fiction, tries to shape your ability to perceive the facts. They try to create a perception and a mood and manipulate that. The great quality literature does not do that.
Notice that I said one or two books. A well balanced person, whether having gone far in the education system or not, could usually point to one or two books (beside the Bible) that had a large part in shaping their character and providing inspiration. By inspiration I do not mean the spiritual mumble jumble that so many freak fake books peddles today. By inspiration I mean that often one's career, vocation or special interest in a "cause" to pursue comes from exposure to one or two books that really spoke to you. It's not the same as being a literature snob (I know a lot of them) who pride themselves on reading a lot of books. And it's not the same as finding some spiritual "answer book." I know too many of that type. Rather, I mean that a normal person reads a number of good books and one or two of them have a seminal influence in shaping for the better that person's character.
The greatest example that is a giant in American history is the book by Harriet Beecher Stowe, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," which is an anti-slavery novel that was published in 1852. It became the best selling novel of the 19th century. Let me repeat that so you grasp how huge that was: Stowe's anti-slavery novel, published before the Civil War, became the best selling novel in the hundred years between 1800-1900! It is one of the reasons the public agreed with the government to go to war-the Civil War-as the Union opposed the continuation of slavery in the USA as advocated by the Confederate states. The only book to outsell Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in the 19th century was the Bible.
Several generations of Americans were moved by this book and had their character formed accordingly. For many people this was the only novel they read at all during that century. It's impact was enormous and many unsung heroes had their character and morality shaped by having read that book.
A second example is "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair. Sinclair is a huge socialist and the irony is that he wrote this expose of the dirt and corruption in the food processing business, specifically Chicago meat packing business, in order to trash capitalism and promote socialism. But it resonated in a way that he never imagined and was a sensation that revolutionized food and drug cleanliness and quality standards in the USA. After reading this book the public demanded some protection from the government and in 1906 the "Pure Food & Drug Act" and the "Meat Inspection Act" were passed. We literally would not have the quality of food and drug we have today (such as it is lately, but that's another problem) and the Food and Drug Administration without this book having been written. Ha, ha, instead of producing lots of little socialists, Sinclair's book produced the first generation of food and drug consumer advocates.
John Steinbeck's book "The Grapes of Wrath," published in 1939, is a mainstay of literature classes. But I mention it because it informed many of your grandparents in terms of their consciousness of the agricultural crisis in the depression produced in large part by poor and exploitative farming practices. This is an example of a novel about poor people during this time in history that informed many of your grandparents who became the first generation of those who understood the need for good land management and stewardship. During the dust bowl and the Depression farmers were not doing even the most rudimentary activities to protect and renew the very soil that they planted, things that are taken for granted today in a large part because of this book. "The Grapes of Wrath" was also a landmark book in looking at rural poverty. In a way Steinbeck wrote a book like Dickens did about industrial urban poverty in England.
My generation was hugely influenced by John Howard Griffin's book "Black Like Me," published in 1961. It caused a sensation as the author, a white man, disguised himself as a black man and documented what he experienced. This book more than any other book informed the character of the white people who read the book or who saw coverage of it on the news. Americans tend to not react to militant exposes and manifestos, but they sure understand a raw deal to an average guy when they see it from "the inside." The author was vilified by many racists for bringing the truth into the public eye in a way that could not be ignored, marginalized or denied.
On the other extreme, here is a quiet little book that was constantly checked out and read in my high school libary. "Cheaper by the Dozen," written in 1948 by husband and wife Frank Gilbreth, Jr and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, was about a loving household with a dozen children. What resonated with so many of my peers in the late 1960's about this book is that both authors were scientists, but also having a large calling to have children! It is too bad that books like this were overrun by militant feminism who made it a "career or children" choice in the public square. It became more of a joke, or even source of embarrassment, to have many children at all, and the message of this fine book has been lost today. Now women brag about their "careers" as stand alone accomplishments, done by "deferring" having children. This book was so charming and it was no novel, it was real.
These are a few examples from my personal experience and observation about how one or two books that are honest and written with integrity can not only influence the social agenda of the day, but reach thousands or millions of people and contribute to their formation of character.
I recommend that you, dear young people, take some of the time away from the recreational or self-help/so called spiritual guru reading and ask people you admire what books shaped their character. I think your grandparents would love being asked that question, and might even faint in amazement. Do some research and read books such as the ones I mentioned here and see how they resonate. Avoid the self serving political and agenda driven books of today until you have read some of the classics that you identify as being good for you. This way you have a quality standard for more modern works that you might read.
Then you'll understand why I'm disgusted with most of the fiction and non-fiction of today LOL. It's all agenda driven rather than purposeful. Good and true authors write with a purpose, noble if possible (even if as Sinclair did, it went in a different direction tee hee), but not to manipulate the readers. Good authors point and report, and their fine work speaks for itself. Agenda driven writers try to manipulate perception and that is a horror to both truth and character development (by character I mean the reader's character, not book's characters). Most literature today, both fiction and non-fiction, tries to shape your ability to perceive the facts. They try to create a perception and a mood and manipulate that. The great quality literature does not do that.
If you read a few quality classics, such as those I mentioned in this post and others, plus through your own asking of people you know, you will have a new clean baseline of what true authorship that is purposeful but not agenda driven is like. Even if these books are out of date, if they make you feel, "Wow, this was big" and you feel a new thoughtfulness inside of you, that is a great gift. A truly great book gives you a thoughtfulness that is not manic depressive. A truly great book may show a hugely troubled situation, as those about slavery, racism, dirty food, and the depression did, but you don't want to hang yourself afterwards. You also don't come away from a book thinking you now know who is the "guru" and who is "wrong." Instead, you come away feeling mature and thoughtful. You feel transformed and like you've had a glimpse inside the truth of a situation, not because you are manipulated into what to think and how to feel, but because the author takes you authentically inside of a situation and allows you to "see." You can then come to your own "all grown up" conclusions and perceptions. This can be done through either fiction or non-fiction, if it is of the highest quality.
One book that did this for me is the set of letters that George Washington wrote to the US Congress while he was the General of the Revolutionary army. I have (in storage) two volumes published in the early 1800's (so just a few years after he died, as I recall) that reprint all the letters that he wrote to Congress during his conduct of the war. Remember, the USA did not exist yet, so there were no government offices or procedures in place. If Washington needed some gun powder in the middle of an actual battle, he had to write to Congress and ask them for the funds and the supplies. The first letters in this book are written as he sits in New York City sweating out losing the battle because he does not have enough supplies. This is not a guy who was writing letters hoping they'd be made into a movie someday so he can be rich or look good. When you read his letters you come away realizing how close we came to having no country at all, and how literally several thousand people carried the weight on their shoulders, as it happened. I thought you'd like hearing this example of the type of book I'm talking about that "did it for me."
I hope you find this helpful. If each of you finds one or two classic books that really speak to you and form your character, you will have a golden ruler of discernment that will never tarnish. You will always be able to pick up a book, or watch a film, and immediately detect its authenticity and quality. You can join me in being really disappointed a lot ha ha. But at least you won't be fooled and manipulated, and if we are lucky, you'll produce different works yourself that are a throwback to purposeful, truthful and quality authorship. The world really needs it, now more than ever, as it wallows in its shallowness and fakeness crisis.
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