Universal Constant: “The Golden Rule”

Preface: Universal Constants is a series where I post bits of common knowledge that may be relevant to any or all aspects of life as we know it. These are “undeniable” principles of reality that often span the fields of philosophy, theology, history, psychology, science and politics.


We've all heard this one since we were tiny kids. "Treat others as you would wish to be treated". Seems simple enough, doesn'’t it? Yet it is as though every new generation, starting with the baby-boomers I suppose, seem to exhibit less and less respect for their fellow human beings as well as themselves. What does that say about our society?

We have more hate crimes, blatant home invasions, car-jackings, etc, than in the past. We've got dumb-ass kids that have the gall to video themselves as they vandalize buildings or shop-lift or commit drive-bys, nailing people on the streets with paintball guns, rocks or just water balloons. They act as though they are invulnerable, no one can or will stop them and they can do as they damn well please, without any consequences.

I think that may well be the telling clue to this decline of character, integrity and compassion. We are raising our children to be fearless. We keep them safe from all things. Helmets and knee pads, ratings on every TV show, movie or CD, no dodge ball on the playground, no corporal punishment, all these and much, much more are making us and our children soft and lazy. We are constantly coddled, made to feel warm and fuzzy at all times. Like steel in a forge, we need to get a chance to become hardened, strengthened by real life. Without learning that "threat of pain" we fear nothing, respect nothing.

The key for each of us, I believe, is to visualize yourself in the "shoes"” of those around you as often as possible. When you interact with others, think about how the other guy feels. How would you feel if it was your property being vandalized, your car being stolen or your home being raided? How would you like to be the one getting yelled at for holding up traffic or cut in front of while standing in line? Would you like to be called derogatory names or made fun of just for being who you are? I doubt it and neither do those around you.

It doesn't matter if it'’s a relative, friend, neighbor, co-worker or a complete stranger; ALL people deserve your respect, compassion and kindness. At least until they have proven otherwise. There is an old Wiccan belief that states "“what you send out into the world will return to you three fold". Meaning that if you are kind, compassionate, caring and merciful toward others OR if you are disrespectful, mean, thoughtless or cruel toward others, you will receive the same in kind and in even greater amounts. In other words, you reap what you sow. I'm a strong believer in Karma.

What goes around comes around.
What sort of cycle do you perpetuate?

What’s the Ultimate Point of Terrorism?

I don’t understand what fanatical groups such as Al-Qaeda are actually trying to accomplish. Do they really think that if they terrorize us enough that the U.S. will just fold up and we’ll all just hide in our houses to wither and die? What is their ultimate goal?

If all they really want is for us to get out of the Middle East, that demand should be well publicized. Personally, I say let them have it. They have been killing each other for thousands of years and our involvement won’t change that. In fact, the reason we have been targeted is because the U.S. has arrogantly stepped in and declared that we shall bring “freedom and democracy” to a culture that we really don’t understand. We may have been seen as “infidels” in the past, but at least we were a world away. Now we’re on top of them, sticking our assuming noses in the middle of their business. Remember, culturally speaking, we are the new kid on the block and yet we assume that we can just force our way of life on all these ancient cultures? No wonder we have met with such resistance. No wonder U.S. citizens are so looked down upon when we travel abroad.

So yes, I can understand their beef with us, in the large scale, but I still don’t get what they think they can accomplish against “the great satan” or any country for that matter. If they had their way, they would destroy us all. But that’s never gonna happen. They can’t wage a full scale war on us, so they can never truly defeat us. Eventually, even if we fully retreat back to our side of the pond, they are going to have to put up with us on a global scale.

The only way they can get their message really heard, to make some real changes, is through diplomacy not violence. Yes, it’s a slow, unsatisfying path that lacks immediate results, but that is the way of the new world. These throwbacks to an older world can’t seem to get that their thick skulls. “Blow shit up and they’ll listen” seems to be their motto. Well, all that does is piss off all the wrong people and turns to world at large against them. It shows them for the lowbrow, mouth-breathers that they are. If they are really serious about their goals, they’ll knock it off and try more peaceful means. Unfortunately, they probably won’t because “smash it with a rock” is all they seem to know and understand.

Why legalized Abortion is a non-issue.

You have two sides of this issue, those who are pro-life and those who are pro-choice. Unfortunately the two sides are talking apples and oranges. The debate is not about whether abortion is right or wrong, it is about whether the government should be allowed to control what a woman does with her own body.

The pro-life people seem to think that abortion should be outlawed because they believe it is murder or at the very least it is “playing God”. To prevent this, they wish the government to intercede by making this option illegal. Make no mistake, every pro-lifer takes this position for religious reasons. To say otherwise is not only untrue, but an insult to our intelligence. Therefore, it is the will of the pro-life side to demand that the government uphold their particular “beliefs” and dictate what all of us can and cannot do, at least in regards to this rather private matter. So much for the division of church and state.

The pro-choice people wish only to be left alone. They don’t want the government telling them what they can and cannot do, especially with their own bodies. This is perhaps the ultimate invasion of privacy and thrashing of individual rights.

Now I’m not saying the pro-lifers don’t have a good point in this. I don’t think abortion is a very good option either. It certainly isn’t a convenient form of birth control. I can’t imagine any women going through all that every time she gets an unwanted pregnancy. Prevention through abstinence or birth control is the way to go. But the fact of the matter is that legal or not, women will still seek out this surgical option. If abortion is legal, women can go to a reputable doctor in a sterile environment. If not, well we all have heard the horror stories of coat hangers, back alleys and such.

The pro-life side believes that abortion is wrong and that is fine with me. But when they wish to push their beliefs upon us all, and have the government be their enforcer, that is where we must draw the line. Abortion, right or wrong, is a choice each woman should make for her self, according to her own personal beliefs. It is not the place of the government to decide for her.

Universal Constant: “History is written by the Conquers.”

Preface: Universal Constants is a series where I post bits of common knowledge that may be relevant to any or all aspects of life as we know it. These are “undeniable” principles of reality that often span the fields of philosophy, theology, history, psychology, science and politics.

Before the Age of Information all knowledge of the past and the present was controlled by the “powers that be”, the Conquers. On the large scale, the ruling class (be it kings or governments) and the Church controlled all of recorded History as well as contemporary information such as current contracts or land ownership. Anything that needed to be written down and logged in was theirs to manage and possibly manipulate, if it was in their best interests.

On the small scale, any information that you come across, through the media, cable TV, radio or (of course) the internet, comes to you through someone else’s perspective. In a sense they have conquered the data before you because they got it first. Watch the news, listen to the radio, look at web sites, all the information you receive, no matter how factual, is always at least mildly tainted by the source’s own point of view. Did you ever play that game where you sat in a circle of friends, one started by whispering a statement to the next and it was passed on around the circle? By the time it got back to the source, the statement was not as it started. This “POV Effect” happens any time knowledge is shared.

Now we are in the Information Age and it is harder for the ruling classes to obscure what they don’t want the common man to know. Now I’m sure by now you are thinking I’m some “out there” conspiracy theorist. Please believe I’m not. All I’m saying is that it may not be probable, but it is definitively possible. So, on the large scale and the small, always take what you are told with a grain of salt, shift it through your own intuitive bullshit detector and see if it still rings true. Don’t follow the party line and accept any particular bit of knowledge just because “everyone” says it is so.

Only a Fool takes what he is handed without question.

The Virtues of Gaming

This is an article that I wrote awhile ago, but never got it published anywhere. I know my writing is sub-par at best, but I think I get my point across none the less.

The Virtues of Gaming
by Kevin Ruesch

In today’s pop culture the word “gaming” commonly refers to playing video or computer games or even poker. But in some circles, this term refers to role-playing games. Since the introduction of the original Dungeons and Dragons™ role-playing game 30 years ago, the reputation of this pastime has suffered greatly due to the unflattering stereotypes attributed towards those who play the game. Now and then I’m sure you’ve heard a comedian or a character on a TV show refer to somebody as a “geek”, “dork” or “dweeb” and remark that they play Dungeons and Dragons™, as if it were a bad thing. While some gamers may fall under these rather subjective labels, there is a significant and growing portion of the gaming community who, being well-rounded and socially active, shatter these stereotypes. Although RPGs (role-playing games) have evolved tremendously over the last few decades and have expanded into many different genres, the hobby is still plagued by this stigma. Unfortunately, these prejudices have kept many people from exploring the possibilities of role-playing games and benefiting from their many virtues.

Role-playing games are more than just another form of entertainment, parents and teachers can use this activity as a powerful teaching tool. As authors Michal Spectre and Marc Prensky state in their college paper (Theoretical Underpinnings of the Games2train Approach); “academic research strongly backs up the common sense notion that when students are engaged in the learning process, they learn and retain more. Engagement can come though emotion, relaxation, and especially through fun. Games are a strong motivating and engaging factor.” Ask any experienced teacher and they will tell you that teaching is most effective when done through an entertaining medium, something that can hold the student’s attention. To this end, role-playing games can be an effective and fun teaching tool.

For those of you not familiar with this type of activity, a role-playing game is just that; a game. Like many games, it has rules, players and goals. But unlike most other games, role-playing games have no finite winner and not necessarily an end. An RPG is more like a story that the players help to create. Have you ever read a book or watched a movie and thought to yourself “what would I have done if I were one of the characters?” Essentially, that is what the player does in a role-playing game. Each player controls, or “runs”, a character that possesses specific skills, equipment and abilities. This character is referred to as a “Player Character” or “PC” for short. The Game Master is the story-teller or narrator who describes for the players the immediate environment and details of the scene that their characters are in. Each player in turn must decide how their own character will react to the current situation, based on that particular Player Character’s personality and goals. With the resolution of each situation or scenario the story continues to grow. Just like in a series of good books, as the story continues along, each character becomes more complex and interesting.

Gaming has a number of beneficial aspects that develop and enhance the mental aptitudes of its players. Just as physical exercise tones and strengthens the body, role-playing games sharpen the mind through academic and philosophical exercise and encourages creativity and imagination. Many video and computer games test the player’s hand-eye coordination or problem-solving skills and this is commendable. But no other activity develops a wider range of school oriented- and life-skills than role-playing games. Arguments can be made for other benefits, but this article will focus on four major areas; Mathematics, Logic and Problem solving, Literary skills and Social skills.

The most apparent benefit of gaming is the development and practice of numerous mathematical skills. Whenever a character attempts an action or when the Game Master needs to establish a random event, the result of a dice roll determines the outcome of that action or event. The chance of a particular action being successful is set at a base number, which is then modified by a variety of contributing factors. The basic mechanism of these games is rolling different sided dice, totaling them, and adding or subtracting any modifying factors, sometimes multiplying or dividing them by other factors.

Here is a common example. Lynn is playing a scout character named Erin. The Game Master (Joel) tells Lynn, “Erin finds herself creeping down a dark corridor. In the dim light she can barely make out a wooden door about 30 ft. down the hall.” Lynn doesn’t like the look of this. She says “I think it’s a trap. Erin will search for trip wires and pressure plates.” Joel looks at his notes then says “OK, roll a Search check, but Erin suffers a -2 penalty to her skill check due to the bad lighting. She must beat a CR (challenge rating) of 16.” Because of her experience and abilities, Erin has a total skill bonus of +4. Lynn rolls a 20-sided die and adds this bonus to her result. She rolls a 15 and adds her bonus of +4, but then she subtracts the -2 penalty for bad lighting for a total skill check of 17. Lynn’s face lights up “Yes!” Joel checks his notes and declares “Erin notices a fine, black thread running across the hall about 1 ft. above the floor. Good job! Now is she going to try to disarm the trap or…?”

In addition to basic arithmetic, its common for players to use geometry, probability, fractions, estimations, rounding, numerical conversions and basic physics. Even in “fantasy” worlds, questions such as how far a character can run in a set amount of time, how much weight a pack mule can carry or what is the range of visibility during a heavy downpour need to be answered. While each game system has its own set of rules or “game mechanics” to deal with these questions, a resourceful teacher can easily use these opportunities to teach real-world physics. Since RPG situations are limited only by your imagination, these scenarios can provide endless examples ripe for teaching a range of scientific principles in an interesting and engaging manner.

Most game scenarios include some sort of floor plans, maps, mazes, puzzles, mysteries and/or riddles. Through these challenges RPGs help to develop the player’s sequential reasoning, strategic thinking and spatial reasoning abilities as well as exercising their logic and problem-solving skills. A well-crafted, intricate storyline also puts the player’s short term and long term memory to the test. Everyone, young and old, can benefit from these kinds of mental exercises. Kids and young adults with ADHD or those who are visual/spatial learners normally don’t respond as well to more traditional teaching methods. However, because the challenges faced through role-playing games must be verbally described and mentally visualized, these extraordinary students are far more receptive to this style of teaching.

As with reading a novel or short story, role-playing games help to expand the gamer’s vocabulary and improve reading skills. Text found in a rule book or on a sheet or card often contains words that the player may be unfamiliar with, inspiring him or her to pick up a dictionary. RPGs frequently draw on historical, literary and cultural references. While these aren't always accurate, many gamers like to investigate and compare the real-world histories and mythologies to the ones used in the games. Encouraging these inquiries not only develops library and research skills, but can lead to broadening the player’s scope of favorite reading material.

The job of the Game Master requires him or her to speak in front of the gaming group, which for most people isn’t always an easy thing to do. Although not as often, the players must also speak to the whole group, particularly when reading the text from a note or clue. Speaking in front of a group of your peers time after time can be the first step in losing that all too common fear of public speaking or performing in front of an audience. On college campuses across the country budding thespians use role-playing games to move passed this natural fear and to experiment with different voices and acting techniques. The very act of role-playing itself, when the player literally speaks as the character, helps to develop these oratory skills.

Tomorrow’s authors can learn a great deal about their craft from role-playing games. Game Masters often create entire “worlds” for their players to explore. Everything from fabricating a geography to generating a population to determining the politics and governing bodies of these imaginary realms, aspiring writers find these world-building skills invaluable. Continuously building upon a storyline develops within the writer a sense of continuity and hones their plot-development skills. The use of multiple plot devices and numerous non-player characters compel both Game Masters and players alike to take concise and thorough notes just to keep it all straight, thus refining these important skills as well.

Perhaps the most important benefit of role-playing games is their social aspect. In today’s fast-paced society the kind of quality “family time” enjoyed when family and/or friends dine together and play games together seems to be diminishing. This is due in part because most people don't seem to realize how truly important this function is. More and more, our day-to-day communication with friends and family is accomplished over the phone or through e-mail rather than in person, further distancing us from one another. Participating in RPGs is a great opportunity for face-to-face interaction and reconnecting with those we haven’t seen in awhile.

The National Parenting Center endorses Family Game Night as one way to bring family members closer together. Playing games, and particularly RPGs, for just for a couple of hours a week can strengthen the relationship between you and your child. Even if you don't play the games with your kids, sit down with them and watch them play. Each scenario can act as a springboard for family discussions of all kinds; ethics, morality, ideology, theology, philosophy and more. This kind of communication cultivates a positive family-child relationship and helps to prevent potential problems in the teen years.

Right or wrong, kids going through adolescence often perceive their friends as the most important part of their young lives. Having a steady group of peers to rely upon through these difficult years is priceless. The long term benefits of positive peer interactions and relationships have been shown in a number of studies. Joining a gaming group provides teens with friends that have similar interests, people that they can relate to and (hopefully) confide in. The group itself can act as a surrogate family unit for young people who are missing that vital connection at home. Role-playing games often build friendships that last a lifetime.

Lastly, role-playing games can help its players grow on a personal level, allowing them to be more understanding (and hopefully more tolerant) of people unlike themselves. Most often a player will choose to run a character that is different from his or her self, both in physical form and personality. Depending on the genre, the gamer could play an elf, an alien, a werewolf or any number of fantastic creatures. Particularly when playing a human character, gamers often choose to play a different gender, age, social status, personality, morality or ethnic background from their real selves. Using their imagination to “walk in the shoes” of someone vastly different from themselves allows each player a glimpse into the world, whatever world that may be, from a different perspective. This eye-opening experience can prove very enlightening.

In conclusion, if you are a teacher or a parent, hopefully you now recognize that there are numerous benefits of participating in role-playing games, for you and your kids. The opportunities to use RPGs as a learning tool is nigh endless. Unfortunately, many of you will still be hesitant to explore gaming due to the stigma that is present to this day. Do yourself, your kids, your students a favor. Take a serious and objective look into role-playing games. Once you look past the stereotypes you’ll find an amazing and entertaining activity both you and your kids can genuinely benefit from and enjoy.