Patriarchy vs. Machismo

Patriarchy literally means 'fathers rule'. If you think 'machismo' means patriarchal, you've got another think coming. The machismo man may strut and crow like a banty rooster, but the last thing he is is a responsible father. The machismo spirit that some consider patriarchal is very compatible with feminism. If the man is cocky and irresponsible, it's probably because the woman is independent and responsible for everything, or because of socialist programs that undermine his paternal obligations.

So when feminists (or egalitarians) equate machismo with true patriarchy, they are equivocating. What at first glance seems like super-patriarchy is in reality its diametric opposite.

This pattern of false opposites shows up in a number of other interesting ways:

Freedom vs. License

Libertarianism or license may seem to be a sort of super freedom. But it is not. As the late Pope John-Paul II advised, "Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." As a matter of fact, the licentious giving of 'free' rein to all one's desires leads to an enslavement that is very akin to addiction, not its opposite at all.

Salvation vs. Universal Salvation

Easy to recognize the rejection of God in one who blasphemes or curses God. But what of the increasingly popular notion that every one will be saved, that no one can possibly be alienated from God's love? Such super-salvation is not at all what it seems to be.

Salvation is understood and gained by the sinner who perceives his own wickedness, who understands God's righteous judgment, and who then cries to God for mercy and forgiveness. Psalm 103:13 and many other scriptures remind us that God is indeed merciful - - to those who fear him.

Besides being contrary to the clear message of the Bible, universal salvation makes no logical sense. Why would God make us suffer through this valley of tears if there were no final consequences, if everyone gains the same eternal reward? Such caprice would not befit a just and loving God.

Repentance vs. Presumption

This fourth example of false opposites is almost the same as the former one. The sweet deception of universal salvation leads inexorably to the deadly sin of presumption. The soul that despairs and the soul that presumes upon God's grace both face damnation for exactly the same reason: they do not repent and seek forgiveness. The one fails to seek God's grace because he thinks himself to be too bad, beyond redemption. The other fails because he thinks himself too good, with no need for redemption. Either way is a rejection of God's merciful forgiveness.

Let the honest Christian beware of false shepherds who speak in grand, majestic and comforting terms of God's everlasting love and infinite mercy, assuring their listeners that God will never allow them to suffer perdition. Such a comforting message may well lead the soul to presume upon God's grace. But remember: Mt.7:13,14 and other Scriptures speak of two opposite roads. When the preacher speaks of an all-inclusive, none-rejecting (and, above all, tolerant) religion, toward which road is he pointing his listeners? Please do not go there.

Starting a few days ago, the comments area on Jerry's Blog now contains a few words reminding you that your comment is a public work and may be quoted, copied, and shared freely by other people. This is simply an explicit disclaimer of what was always implicit, applicable to pretty much any blog comment on the internet. What's new is that large segments of this website, including Jerry's Blog, are now protected by the Gnu General Public License (GPL). A public license is sometimes called copyleft protection. Conventional copyright means that nobody can copy the work without explicit permission. Copyleft means that the public may freely copy it, but they cannot later claim a more restrictive copyright protection for themselves, even if they modify the work or incorporate some of their own ideas.

This is not usually an important concept for blog articles or comments. It is important for computer software. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) publishes the GPL license with the idea that software ought to be freely available. This is in sharp contrast with Microsoft's propietary mentality that they own their software, and if you want to use it, you gotta pay their high price. You can't copy nor modify nor share it. I hope you know that when you buy a new computer at WalMart or wherever, a large chunk of your purchase price goes to Microsoft for the pre-installed Windows operating system that you can never really own nor control. No, thanks. About 15 years ago, I started running Linux, a public-licensed operating system, on my home computer. More secure, more powerful, more freedom.

So now I'm trying to return the favor, to a small degree. It was also about 15 or 16 years ago that I started writing programs to analyze and solve Sudoku puzzles. This effort has evolved to become arguably the best Sudoku Analyzer on the web, and, since I personally wrote every line of its code, I could certainly claim conventional copyright ownership. So I do. But am now opening up those ownership rights a bit via the GPL agreement, saying that anyone who cares to do so may freely copy and modify my Sudoku software (and even make money with it, if you are more astute than I when it comes to sales and marketing.) What you may not do is claim propietary rights over it yourself, or restrict its use by others. This software freedom applies to my Sudoku Analyzer, and to most other CyberJerry content.

Most, but not all. There remain some private pages, whose contents and encryption techniques will die with me. Likewise I refuse to share scripts that pertain to personal data of blog members or of anyone who submits a CyberJerry feedback form. To see more specific details, see the new CyberJerry license page. You may read the GPL license with all its legalese --> here, or navigate to https://www.gnu.org/licenses/ for more information.

Am planning some small website changes soon, but first want to publicly clarify another matter that is of great personal import and may also have a slight impact on the planned website changes.

My family name is DePyper, a compound, two-part surname of Belgian origin. Am not sure of the etymology; it may originally have meant something like 'the piper', as in the village flute player, or, more likely, 'of (the town of) Pyper'. Either way, 'Pyper' was the important part, and 'De' (or 'de') merely the prefix.

I grew up learning to write my family name as DePyper, but also to recognize and accept De Pyper and de Pyper (read article)

A principal symptom of psychosis, especially of schizophrenia, is a profound disconnection from reality. The patient, for emotional or organic reasons, does not relate to his surroundings in a rational manner. He often constructs his own private reality quite different from the world in which more sane folks live.

We are in the midst of the modern Dark Ages, an epoch of human history marked by a mass departure from reality. An age in which certain psychoses become acceptable because believed in by so many, perhaps by the majority. But if everybody believes in an alternate reality, does that alternative therefore become true? I think not.

100 or even 50 years ago, it (read article)

This old dog is learning a new trick. Specifically, a new math programming technique, called Fractional-Exponential Integer Math. Less complicated than it sounds. It is "a programming technique for storing and computing fractional and exponential numbers without the inaccuracies inherent to floating point numbers. . . It is precise because all numeric values are stored internally as integers."

It began for me earlier this year when I participated in an online math challenge at linuxquestions.org , my favorite online forum. My (read article)

Immediately before the Ascension of our Lord, and in the midst of his promises of the imminent outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the apostles ask Jesus this question. It seems irrelevant, and countless preachers and homilists have dismissed it as such, or as yet another example of the clueless disciples completely missing the point.

But there is nothing of a rebuke or dismissal in Jesus' answer, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons. . ." It sounds rather similar to other words of Jesus (read article)

I used to drive a Toyota pickup whose non-functioning ignition switch I replaced with an array of 3 ordinary household toggle switches for: engine, starter, dashboard. Not what you'd call advanced security; anyone could start my truck and drive off without a key (if they could figure out which switch was which.) At the same time, I lived in a farm house with 4 exterior doors, only one of which had a working keyed lock, and that one key was a big skeleton key, too cumbersome to carry about with me. For eleven years I lived a completely key-less life. And never had a problem with auto theft nor home burglary nor vandalism.

Not that I lived in a crime-free area. I'm sure there were (read article)