In the future this will be seen as History Lesson #1 at the NDD.
It’s depressing to think this is true. Do you think it is?
Drawing by Marty Coleman, who doesn’t. Except for the parts he does.
Quote by George Bernard Shaw, who had a LONG beard.
Category Archives: George Bernard Shaw
Heresy – Evolution #1
Let’s start at the very beginning…of Evolution Week at the NDD!
Would you enjoy life without the knowledge of good and evil? Not just evil mind you, but GOOD and evil. What would life be like with out EITHER of those things?
When the story of Adam and Eve was written, approximately 3,500 years ago, it was explained that the desire to have knowledge of good and evil was a bad thing, a heresy so to speak. It was then a fatal misconduct on the part of Adam and Eve to act on that desire. It was an explanation for why humans are the way they are.
Now we know there are many other reasons as well for why we are the way we are. The sciences of zoology, biology, chemistry, physics and cosmology all have contributed to our more advanced (though not yet complete) understanding of these things.
And guess what? Each one of those sciences and their early (and in some cases later) discoveries were first seen as heretical and those who practiced them were seen as guilty of misconduct. Many were thrown in jail and killed as a result of their investigations. Many who weren’t treated so harshly were still sidelined and dismissed for their ideas.
Our evolution doesn’t come easily it seems.
A question: Do you know why, in the biblical story of Genesis, Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden? I bet the reason is not what you think. The answer tomorrow.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish playwright
>The Single Biggest Problem in Communication
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I was raised in a somewhat loud, somewhat opinionated, somewhat verbose family. With an Irish heritage we blamed it on the Irish ‘gift of gab’. My mother was loud, funny and quick to throw a barb if she saw something pretentious. My father was argumentative and assertive in his voice and style while still being a charmer.
I married into a family in 1979 that was the exact opposite. They were instilled with a quiet and respectful way of talking to each other. Calm, cool, minimal in outward expression. They believed in saying nice things, well mannered things and not raising your voice.
Can you guess where this is going? My way of communicating, which I had always thought was pretty good, turned out to be so strong and aggressive compared to what my wife was used to, that most anything I said with any outward expression was taken as having much more meaning than I meant it to. She heard anger where I thought I was expressing passion. She heard insistence where I thought I was expressing enthusiasm.
In the meanwhile, my wife’s method of communicating, which I am sure she thought was pretty good, turned out to be so quiet, deferential and subtle that sometimes I didn’t even know that she had communicated at all. The passion she felt came out in such a way that it was easy for me to either not hear it, or dismiss it as not being all that important.
As you can imagine it took a long time before we clued into what the other person was really trying to express. We weren’t ever completely understanding about that and it was an underlying issue among larger issues that led to our divorce in 2000, after 20 years of marriage.
The reason I tell this story is to give you insight and an admonition. The insight might seem obvious to some, but we all have blind spots. Remind yourself that each individual hears uniquely, both sounds and meaning behind the sounds. The admonition follows from that. Do not go into any relationship, casual or serious, with the assumption that your way of communicating is the best way. You might have a good way, but chances are so does the other person. You might have blind spots about how you talk, the words you use, the manner in which you deliver them, that others see and don’t necessarily appreciate or understand.
Evaluating yourself to become better includes evaluating your words and their delivery.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish playwright. Just imagine, he was old enough to be aware during the American civil war (1861-1865) and lived to see WWII being fought and resolved (1939-1945). That is an amazing span of life.
>I Learned Long Ago Never
>A vintage napkin from 2002, put in my daughters’ lunches.
This quote is often used by politicians and radio/ TV talk show hosts to explain why they don’t like arguing. This is usually said right before they start to argue.
Drawing and two sentences passing for a commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily.
Quote by George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish playright
>The Best Brought-up Children
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Let’s get right to it. Examples of hypocrisy in action on the part of parents that do no favors to their children in the long run.
Telling your child to wait until marriage to have sex but you are having sex with your BF or GF while you are dating.
Telling your child that they shouldn’t drink but you drink like a sailor on leave.
Appearing to always be cheery and perky while hiding blue moments from everyone.
Telling your child to live by the golden rule but you gossip and malign others incessantly.
Telling your child it’s inner beauty that counts but you obsess over your looks.
Telling your child that money isn’t the most important thing in life, but acting as if it is, judging people on their perceived wealth.
So, what is the alternative, to show your kid what a jerk you are? No, the alternative is to work to integrate who you are….who you REALLY are, with what you teach your child. You don’t have to expose every flaw, you simply have to be the same person with the same beliefs in your whole life, not one life for you as an adult alone and another for you in front of your kids.
You may ask, why not be two different people? My kids don’t need to see that side of me. The point is, they WILL see that side of you, no matter what. They may not see it at age 5, but they will by 15. They will see your hypocrisy and it will teach them the lesson you don’t want to teach them, that integrity isn’t real and from within, it is just a charade you play to look acceptable on the outside. That is the lesson a child of hypocrisy learns. Then guess who they teach that lesson to?
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish Playwright
