44 years ago I enrolled in an Introduction to Philosophy class offered by\u00a0my local community college. One essay I\u00a0read asserted that my life was filled with choices and I would always have to choose. Even refusing to choose was itself a choice.<\/p>\n
Today is Day 2 of the\u00a0new school year and the Hum 110 conflicts of last year have already reasserted themselves. Because absolutely\u00a0nothing in my academic\u00a0training qualifies me to opine on the ideal Hum 110 curriculum it is tempting to turn my back on the dispute and gaze upon the sabbatical year stretching out before me.<\/p>\n
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And yet, just 2 weeks ago I swept away by\u00a0the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s production of The Odyssey<\/a>. The opening scene was electrifying. A bored Reader fails to\u00a0mumble her way through\u00a0the first 4 lines of the poem. She tries again, and then, from nowhere, a Muse appears and grabs the Reader. A shock runs\u00a0through them both. Commanded by the Muse, the Reader elevates\u00a0her voice, and her voice that commands our attention. Mortals, take heed. Ancient conflicts between people easily forgotten, but who among us can look away when these same conflicts splash across the daily news? Merely mortal, we cry out in agony\u00a0to this goddess or that god, but do they hear our cries?<\/p>\n