Conversations with Calliope- Rocking the Boat

(With Carol in the Monastery Garden)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Back on my feet. I'm caught up with my correspondence and ready to get back into the groove.
CALLIOPE: You mentioned in passing yesterday that you had written some seditious pieces. I don't recall discussing this with you before you. Could you elaborate?
JOE: Toward the end of my monastic days, I started putting my thoughts on paper regarding reservations about the direction my religious order was taking.
CALLIOPE: Was that so bad?
JOE: I suppose not. My indiscretion was in circulating my writing which eventually fell into disapproving hands.
CALLIOPE: I see. And that led to your being kicked out?
JOE: Not directly. I was given a warning and put on probation due to my views.
CALLIOPE: How did you deal with that?
JOE: I wasn't quite ready to leave so I backed off for a while. I did not stop writing but tried to be more careful about who I let see my writing.
CALLIOPE: Whose decision was it for you to leave in the end?
JOE: I made the decision, but under duress and with a feeling of relief on the part of my superiors.
CALLIOPE: Did your recent monastery visit give you any further perspective on your decision to leave?
JOE: I realize I made the right decision. I think I have a better understanding of the various points of view prevalent at the time and that mine was not shared by the powers that be. Talk with you tomorrow.

Cell Phones and Anarchy

I have been bothered by the number of people who ignore the law about use of cell phones while driving. I would not want to be the victim of such drivers due to their inattention. A few days ago I read a letter to the editor in which the writer suggested that such laws were stupid and that people should be allowed to decide for themselves when it was safe for them to use a cell phone while driving. It occurred to me that such logic could also be applied to use of alcohol and other drugs while driving. Maybe people should be able to decide how much they could drink and still be safe drivers. Somehow the logic did not make sense. But it seems we have come to a point in our society where people take it upon themselves to decide whether laws make sense for them. If they do not think so, they take it upon themselves to do whatever they want. I wonder how we have moved from a nation of agreed-upon laws to one of personal laws fitting everyone's whim.

(Accident caused by a drunk driver using a cell phone)