Monday was Presidents Day, which afforded us all a good opportunity to reflect on the line of crusty generals, paranoid lawyers, and other semi-respectable types who have lead our country over the past 223 years.

The Washington Post reports that the Founding Fathers have never been more “in.”

On the campaign trail, Republican presidential contenders have been unusually explicit in their allegiance to the ideals of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and the rest.

GOP candidates have imagined the FFs as a monolithic group who thought this and didn’t think that, who would have applauded this and would have abhorred that.

In reality, as the Post reminds us, the Great Wigged Ones “often bitterly disagreed with each other” and held opinions that historians have illuminated as ambiguous, contradictory, or just plain wrong.

Ben Franklin’s suggestion of the turkey over the bald eagle as the national bird, for example, can safely be said to have been moronic and tasteless.

It is curious that our politicians are fond of throwing the FFs names around in debates on issues that weren’t even on the radar in the 18th century, like abortion and gay marriage. In any case, if there were gay marriages happening in 18th century America, the radar technology to detect them had yet to be invented.

For that matter, what would the Founding Fathers have to say about the KFC Double Down? How about Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 3D? (”Three dimensions is just one more for me to hate it in,” J. Adams, 1801.)

Still, with all this attention being drawn to these deified colonials is also curious that we know exactly what a politician means when he or she talks about our Founding Fathers (as if we all grew up in the same house with our Founding Daddies drinking the Founding Daddy Kool Aid).

It is true many of the Founders were among the most forward-thinking people alive in their day, but they were human too and would be the first to confess that they weren’t perfect.

After all, had Barack Obama been present at the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, he would have been welcomed, at best, with something along the lines of: “This inkwell isn’t going to refill itself.”

So the next time a politician makes claims about their Founding Fathers, perhaps we should ask for a paternity test… Because the kid doesn’t show very much resemblance. . . .

Isaiah 40:12-20

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD,
or instruct the LORD as his counselor?
14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
18 With whom, then, will you compare God?
To what image will you liken him?
19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol that will not topple.

Reflection
God is truly great! And there is nothing in all creation that He can be compared to. In fact, everything we see, from the stars in the sky to the waters in the ocean are the very works of His hands. Yet, in the midst of this unfathomable power and glory, God chose us and called us His own. The very One that created the universe, has called us His sons and daughters. What else can we say, how else can we respond but to give Him all praise and honor with all of our lives. Let’s worship the Lord!

Response
Let’s respond by spending some time reflecting on all the things that God has done in our lives, whether it be how He worked through certain situations, or just the fact that He was able to create something as magnificent as the earth. Let’s spend time thanking Him for all that He has done, and will do among us.

A film shot last spring about the research of Robert Provine, psychology, and his undergraduate researchers aired in France and Germany on Dec 30.  The English version is forthcoming, but the German version can be seen below.

The program is mainly focused on Provine’s research into laughter and his book.  The crew spent about a week in Baltimore and UMBC, shooting material in Provine’s lab, one of my lectures, the Commons, and the American Visionary Arts Museum that had an exhibit featuring his work. Matt Groening of The Simpsons, Patch Adams and others were collaborators in the AVAM show. 

See the German language film here.

Robert Provine, psychology, has an essay in a newly published collection entitled This Will Make You Smarter. The book is the latest in a series by the website Edge.org, which focuses on an annual question posed to today’s leading thinkers.  This year’s question was “What scientific concept would improve everybody’s cognitive toolkit? “

This is Provine’s seventh contribution to the series, and his essay is entitled “TANSTAAFL” (“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”). It focuses on the fact that everything has its price, a concept relevant to everyday life as well as all sciences. The idea of TANSTAAFL borrows from Robert Heinlein’s science fiction classic, “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.”

Contributors to the book include Daniel Kahneman, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Martin Seligman, Martin Rees, Robert Sapolsky, Steve Pinker, Jaron Lanier, V. S. Ramachandran, Lisa Randall, Brian Eno, J.Crain Venter, David Brooks, and others.  All of the essays can be read here.

Maryland State Delegate John Olszewski, a Ph.D. student in public policy at UMBC, spoke out about his vote on Maryland’s same-sex marriage bill in the Baltimore Sun this weekend.

Olszewski, 29, a second-term Baltimore County Democrat, says he wanted to be sure the bill enables religious institutions who do not want to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies to refrain from doing so, and that he is confident the measure “goes above and beyond” to “protect religious institutions.” He concluded, “To go another day denying full rights to all Marylanders would be a disgrace.”

Prior to enrolling in UMBC’s Ph.D. program in public policy, Olszewski was a social studies and special education teacher for seven years. See Olszewski’s website for his full statement on the marriage legislation.