Reading Glasses

A couple of weeks ago I went in for my annual eye exam, the one I do every six years or whenever my old prescription glasses are of little or no use which ever comes first. It had gotten to the point where reading was no longer fun and it had nothing to do with politics.


Coupon in hand I took advantage of a two for one sale; the first pair have all purpose Varilux ™ no line lenses in titanium frames similar in many ways to the glasses I’d been using except the new ones have my current prescription. The second pair have bifocal lenses; the top half for working at the computer and the lower half strictly for reading.


It took a month longer to get the bifocal lenses; but since the Varilux ™ glasses arrived and I could see, there was no real rush. All the same I was looking forward to reading some books that had been put on hold; no fun reading if you have to set it down after only a few pages. Hey, maybe that’s why folks in congress no longer read pieces of legislation prior to voting; they need new glasses, or not.


My bifocals came in and are as advertised, perfect for computer work, reading the newspaper, magazines and books. First on the list to catch up on, Dan Brown’s, The Lost Symbol , which belongs to my daughter. She’d left it on my coffee table several months ago; about the time I figured out my old glasses no longer permitted reading books. ( If you have not read the book as yet; skip the link where far too much information regarding the plot is offered. )


The Lost Symbol reminded me of another fantastic journey, the search for ultimate truths; Carl Sagan’s, Contact . For all their posturing, the appearance of being intellectually superior while remaining distant from religion, as if those who rely on faith are somehow inferior; both books remind the reader that ultimate truths comes from the same source, God.


I remember folks from church telling me to avoid reading Carl Sagan’s book because he was an Atheist; his books, according to them, were nothing more than anti-Christian propaganda and might damage my testimony. What I found was a set of well thought out arguments, as if the writer had these thoughts diametrically opposed in his mind, using each individual character to articulate the various notions, all the while searching for answers to the most spacious questions a human can ask; no different than any of us looking for the truth of all things .


The knowledge of all mankind has been written in various texts; math, literature, science, history and scripture by wise and learned men. The mysteries of creation are available to those willing to sort through their recorded words, as if they were speaking to us from the dust .


This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.