My Sunday Thought for September 15, 2015: By Any Other Name

"Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptiz’d;

Henceforth I never will be Romeo."

-- Romeo to Juliet

Higher education is a good thing, providing you get a rounded education. What we have been doing since I was a kid is cutting back budgets so we only teach the necessities, and very little of that. One of the problems I see with the "trade school" approach to education, where you cut out the fine arts, you end up with higher degrees void of common sense or emotion; a educational degree which, more times than not, miss the point which an eighty year old retired grocery checker, mother of four, and grandmother of ten, would pick up on while sorting field peas and watching Jeopardy on TV, primarily because she has lived life.  We hope this slack will be taken up by the doting parents.  Parenting?  Yeah, right.  That's a crap shoot, kind of like education, you can win or lose - and the house usually wins.

Ira Rosofsky Ph.D., wrote an article called, Was Shakespeare Wrong?--Would A Rose By Any Other Name Smell As Sweet? Juliet Capulet was wrong about the rose.  The title is way too long for the point I thought it missed.  In the opening lines Dr. Rosofsky says, "Shakespeare-or more precisely, Juliet--was wrong in declaring, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet... Names have power. They are not like shirts you can change without changing you."

While his point, I'm sure, is academically valid, his example, unfortunately, would seem to be a reflection of a focused education, not a rounded one and, sadly, if so, not unexpected.

Ira, Ira, Ira... it's Shakespeare, dear fellow.  More importantly, it is romantic!  I'm not sure Ira was ever made to sit through the entire play, and hopeless romantics would pay good money to be bored to tears by the balance of the play just to see and hear the romantic repartee.  You know... the conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies?  In this case, the romantic ones that make women swoon and a men have to run out to buy roses.  Some people, however, just don't get it.

They miss the romance of Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet on the bow of the Titanic, his hands on her waist and her arms out, a sense of flying, as she leaned forward over the rail.  Or Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in Ghost as she turns clay on the potting wheel and turned on most of America, and Swayze, in a seriously romantic scene.  A truly romantic moment does not require nudity, or sex, it requires a great story, with great lines, and a director which understands romance.

What is in a name?  Nothing.  God or Allah, one and the same.  Oh, the faithful will demand there are arguments against it, but in your heart there is no difference other than the scripture and agenda the religious leadership would try to push.  By any other name, there is but one God.  The name you choose is of little matter, that ship sailed when the we stopped being able to pronounce the old tongue.  I think God would reflect Romeo's sentiment, "Call me but love..."

I think people look upon the world differently when they are brought up to appreciate the arts.  And, when I say appreciate, I don't mean put on a Floral shirt, shorts, sandals, and your ball cap to go see the ballet.  Yes, everyone does it.  To truly appreciate art you need to dress appropriately.  Show some respect to the actors, dancers, and artists.  Show some respect to yourself and those around you.  Be a damned romantic, dress up, buy your loved one flowers and a great dinner, and then go see a play together.  Bring money so you can buy drinks at intermission, cheapskate.  It is all about romance.

Shakespeare wasn't wrong.  He knew how to spin a yarn and provide entertainment.  He knew something of the ways of the heart.  It is something you find when you learn to open your mind to art, music, drama, and love.  It is something you learn when you turn off your computer, leave your office, close your textbook, and go sit in a field of flowers on a quiet spring day, especially if you share it with someone special.  No, Shakespeare wasn't wrong, Doc.  You should have read the play. 

He was alive!

Take a bit of time this weekend to enjoy other people, read a good book, watch a classic drama, or just listen to some music.  Enjoy as much of this in person and live if possible.  Purchase tickets for a play, opera, musical, or concert.  It can be your local community theater.  Let us all try to get out with our loved ones, and the children, to enjoy the arts!  Most importantly, learn what your schools are teaching your kids, or grandkids.  You might find the teachers are as upset as you'll be.  Fight for rounded educations.  Fight for the arts, because... not all kids can play sports.  If the schools won't find the money, or the time, there is a lot to be said for good parenting.  Look into it.  Your kids will benefit from your attention.

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."