The initial premise from Joseph Pearce
“One of the most important treasures to desire is the possession of words. Words are necessary because they are the very things with which we do our thinking and liberate us from the slavery of ignorance. We can only make sense of the world, and our place within it, if we have the vocabulary to articulate our thoughts. It’s not simply that we need words to communicate with others; we need words, first and foremost, to communicate with ourselves. If we are unable to make sense of the complexity of our situation because we do not have the words in our mind to articulate what’s going on in our lives, we are doomed to the sort of frustration which leads to despondency and despair, and rage and violence which are their toxic fruits.”
I have forgotten the following writer’s names.
Words 1: Changing Minds
We all have filters, [such as] What do I already believe? Does this new idea or piece of information confirm what I already think? Does it fit in the frame I’ve already constructed?
Ideas that don’t fit easily will require me to think, and think twice, and maybe even rethink some of my long-held assumptions. That kind of thinking is hard work. It requires a lot of time and energy.
Words 2: Rules and Extreme Cases
A sagacious legal maxim states that hard cases make bad law. If we make a generally applicable law(or rule) to counter an extreme or extremist circumstance, we risk removing freedom from all people in order to restrict the freedom of the extremist.
Words 3: Generosity and Wealth
Generosity is simultaneously a moral and a material imperative, especially among people who live close to the land and know its waves of plenty and scarcity. Where the well-being of one is linked to the well-being of all. Wealth among traditional people is measured by having enough to give away.
Words 4: God’s Question to Job
The question: Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Who determined its measurements-surely you know?
We manage the contributions, loyalty and human capital of our founders going further back than our initial chartering dates—generations helping generations. It takes a community to create a credit union. We see in our time how this founding effort has been paying forward, establishing our present public standing. Whenever an enabling legacy is honored, this renewed awareness generates deep gratitude, even awe.