A Formal Dining Out with Katie

Katie spent last weekend with me here at Fort Leonard Wood. Friday was a formal military Dining-Out ceremony that she attended with me. She looked beautiful and I was thrilled to walk around arm and arm with her. Whatever nervousness she had about the formal occasion quickly dissipated after she met some of the characters I am in training with. We sat at the "Texas" table with some of my friends who are all in the same National Guard unit back in Texas. They are very funny and enjoyable company. My buddy Chuck had us all almost crying from his zany behavior (alcohol was involved).

On Saturday, Katie and I went to the St. Louis Six Flags amusement park. It was so much fun going on coasters and walking around with Katie! We stopped by Alex's Pizza in Rolla on the way home. Overall, it was a great weekend of quality time and it was hard to see her go on Monday, but I'm thankful for every moment I get.

I'm getting ready to go into the field today as I write this. When I get back, I'll only have 1 week left here at Fort Leonard Wood! 4 months went by fast! I have a lot more to write about, but it'll have to wait until I get back from the field so that I can give it the time it deserves.

Moral Evolution

I've had some thoughts recently about a concept called moral evolution.
This might be a controversial topic for some, but I hope that the premises that I lay out for this idea make it possible for you to let the concept play with your imagination and not conflict with your beliefs.

I. Assuming that the biological processes of evolution by means of natural selection have been and are currently taking place to some extent, would we as humans be at the end of a spectrum of evolution or still in the middle of it?

II. Humans are already distinct from animals by having consciousness, so what does human evolution look like?
a) If natural selection occurs when one species adapts to an environment faster than another, then technology could be a physical manifestation of human evolution (the struggle to do more with less has always fueled technological innovation). Physical evolution can also be seen in how society operates and what institutions control it.
b) Since humans are conscious beings, would the increase in knowledge of our nature, the environment, and our role in the environment be a form of mental evolution?
c) If humans can evolve physically and mentally, could they evolve morally and spiritually as well?

III. The controversial part of this is considering whether or not humans have an innate moral compass... a moral code... not a code of law, but closer to a moral genetic code.

I think if you asked most people today where their morals and values came from, the most common responses you would get would be religion and parents/upbringing. So what happens when I meet someone who has had a different upbringing and a different religious moral understanding?

I do believe that an absolute truth exists. I just don't think that it's so easy to be certain that we've got it. I do go to God in prayer for discernment when it comes to finding the truth. The times when I feel like I've received an answer to a question about what's morally right is after I've considered all of the parties involved in the question. I think that if God can give us discernment of the truth, then maybe it's his purpose for all of us to have that ability. I may not have it now, but maybe humans a thousand years from now will not fight in wars because discernment is a gene in the moral code of humans in the future.

I have a lot more thoughts on this subject, but this may be crazy enough. It's interesting to think about.

Weekend with Katie

Katie came to visit me on the weekend of July 15th-19th. As I'm writing this, I am getting excited for her to visit me again for a formal event on Friday, August 6th. She has all of the pictures that we took that weekend on her camera. I'll update this post later on with some of those when I get them from her. It's probably no surprise to hear that having her here made the best weekend of my time here at Fort Leonard Wood. I was able to show her around post and point out the staples that exist on every post. The military is a different world, but it's nice that it is consistent, so she will not be shocked when she comes to live with me near Fort Bragg after we get married. I could tell that she developed confidence in navigating around the military environment after the weekend. It is always more scary when you don't know what lies beyond the security gates. It will be cool later on when I'm done with active duty and Katie and I can drive past a military post (or see one in a movie) and look at each other and think, "Been there, done that."

I must admit, at times, I feel jealous of some of the guys who have their spouses with them because I miss Katie. I know that I just need to be patient and I'll enjoy being with her that much more later on. I do think that this past weekend was a blessing though.

Katie and I enjoyed some of the sites along historic Route 66. We went to Meramec Caverns which were huge and awesome to walk around. We even saw a part of the cave where Jesse James hid the loot from a train robbery! We stopped by a winery on the way back and tasted some Missouri wines, and we topped off the night with a trip to the movies to see Inception. It was a great movie! I enjoyed the way it made me think and I'll probably watch it again.

The conversations and the company were the best part. We cooked meals together and chatted it up! My favorite pastime!

As I write this, I'm only 3 days away from seeing her again. I'm a lucky guy!

Bridging the Gap

It's been a while since my last post, but I'm going to try to make up for that today by posting some of my recent activities and thoughts.

A few weeks ago, I learned about bridging in the military. After we learned about all of the types of bridges that the military uses and how to design a bridge based on the requirements, we went out and worked on building three different types of bridges. I've included a picture of a common military bridge called the Bailey Bridge. We built this one when we were training. It has been used by the military for a long time as you can tell by the picture from WWII.

I remember thinking to myself even before I came here that I like the idea of bridge building. Bridging a gap from one side to another is essentially the key task of a peacemaker. Most conflicts arise from two people standing on their own side of a river. They've never been to the other side and have no interest in seeing what is over there. One of the key ways to finding a resolution in conflict is to see the other side. At that point, agreement isn't even necessary because it becomes possible to respect or at least understand where the other person is coming from.

"Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God." --Matthew 5:9

Here's to building bridges!