AlGore,

Despite your philosophising about "us" and "them", there are few in these pages who demonstrate the concept as much as you do.
In the end I suppose it's only practicing what you preach eh?

Dear Rache
I am absolutely, unapologetically, forever + 1, an advocate of "us/them"

The "us" is...those who have received Christ as their Lord and Savior, and have repented of sin....they are called "Christians"

"They" are those who have yet to receive Christ as Savior.

The important issue for consideration is..the actual disposition in terms of feeling and attitude between 'we'...and 'they'.

Using the Bible as our reference..and Jesus as our example... we find.

God so 'loved' the world.... etc. John 3:16

We find Jesus used Parables such as the lost coin, the lost sheep..and the prodigal son.

The whole of Jesus ministry was about 'us/them'....Saved/lost...redeemed/not yet redeeemed, repentant/unrepentant, forgiven/unforgiven.

So...yes...I am guilty as charged.. I am a very strong advocate of the idea the Christ died for our sin...and that when people turn from sin, and embrace Him as Lord...they are forgiven, and move from 'unsaved' to 'saved'....and join a community of the redeemed.

I know this means that there will be those like the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus day who, like the Anti Defamation League today in the USA.. will say things like

"Your comments are outrageous and offensive" welcome to my world.

Dear Poirot,

Simplicity, Patience and Compassion sound like good things.

Since usually our only contact with each other are these email messages we can try to make our statements as clear and simple as possible.

We can exercise patience by not rushing to post the instant we get a message that rouses us. We can reflect on it and decide whether it is worth answering. If we decide it is worth answering then answer it with regard for the other person. If we decide it is not worth answering just don't answer, and make no comment on it.

Compassion is harder. I do not feel pity or sympathy for everyone who posts to this string. I question whether I should try.

However, off the list it's a different story. Simplicity can mean letting go of non-essentials. There is only one essential that we cannot avoid. That’s death. Today, I saw Puccini’s “The Girl of the Golden West”. It was delightful but non-essential. Non-essentials make life worthwhile. Diogenes lived in a tub and begged. It was a very simple life. Einstein said, “Things should be made as simple as possible but not too simple.”

A good mixture of patience and impatience seems better than patience. Excess patience can become procrastination.

I have compassion for anyone suffering from great pain, grieving or any of the other ills common to all humanity. However, should one have compassion for one who has committed an atrocious act? It can depend on circumstances.

Since I get only part of the picture of a person from these posts I fill in the rest. It is obvious from your post that my picture is false. I pictured you as one who would be opposed to home schooling. I would appreciate knowing why you decided on it.

We grow oregano and seven spice which goes into vegetarian spaghetti sauce. What do you grow in your herb garden?

To minimise my we/they behaviour I can discuss non-we/they topics. We may come back to we/they topics later with a greater appreciation of each other.

Dear David f.,

There were various reasons for choosing home education.
I have an adult daughter and a nine year-old son, so I was coming to the whole "education" thing again. This made me examine things a little more closely than I had the first time around.
The more I looked at institutionalised schooling, the more dubious I became.
I wondered what it would be like if my son had the opportunity to learn in the wider community and at home by following his own interests - with some guidance from me. It seems a much more authentic learning environment as he isn't disconnected from the real world.
So we have freedom in a sense. It's my job to help him make the most of his passions.
He recently became interested in cooking - hence, the herb garden. Each interest offers a wide range of opportunities to work at the various disciplines.
We planted seeds of coriander, thyme, chilli pepper and chives. We also have rosemary sage and various mints.

Western society has only been doing institutionalised learning for around 200 years. It came hot on the heels of the British Industrial Revolution. When you stop and give it some thought, whenever in history have we segregated children away from the rest of society with age peers for so many of their waking hours - seems a strange thing to do.

David f.,

Some "non-essentials" can often make life more interesting.
Afterall -"Life is not measured
by the number of breaths we take
but by the moments that take our breaths away."
(I can't remember who said that but it strikes a chord with me).

If any of you are in doubt about just how vitriolic "we/they' can get.. try this for size. (former OLO progressives venting their spleens)

http://www.ambitgambit.com/2010/12/12/human-rights-awards-chris-sidoti-pauline-hanson-and-on-line-opinion/

David... ignoring will not make the problem go away.. 'action' please.