Volume 8, Issue 1, page 2
A& ~ APRIL, 1961 * * * VOZ. VIII, No. 1
F1 13ERRE E
Recusant Voice of 'The Infinites'
for Earth, Mars, Venus, Saturn,
Pluto, and Zydokumzruskehen
Published monthly, except for the, combined January- February and
July
August issues, at 207 North Washington, Enid, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
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Editor: The Rev. Mr. Dr. ALPHIA OMEGA HART, 1-2, D.D., D. Sen.,
F. Sen.. B. Sen., tWA, HCA, et al ad infinitum ad nauseum.
Publisher: ALICE AGNES HART, I-1, HCA, SEC., WFE. , Lbrn.,
H.Kpr., ETC.
POLICY: Don't take it so damn' seriously. The infiniteness of Man
is not reduced 'to a " split infinity " by wars, taxes, or"
experts" who s~ek to sell him that
which he already has in an infinite amount.
Sub-Policy: We reserve the right to change our minds from issue
to issue, or even from page to page, if we desire.
Sub-Sub-Policy: Each man has the inherent right to be his own and
only "Authority" --with his wife's permission, of course.
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EVEN ORCHIDS "When warmth ARE WEEDS IN comes to the WRONG GARDEN
garden, every
thing comes up, especially weeds. I wonder about religious
people, if their sins do not show firston
some such similar basis."
The trouble with analogies is that they don't quite duplicate the
problem they're trying to clarify. All A's are not
the same as other a's. But quite often, as in the above example,
analogies do open new vistas for thinking to those
willing to take their eyes away from the keyhole thru which they
have been trying to observe Life.
The quoted paragraph was taken from a letter sent us by Alberta
Elliott, D. Scn., and is used because it illustrates
how two trains of thought can travel on the same track. Alberta
admits she is "wondering 09, so it is apparently safe
to conclude that she has reached no rigid resolution on the
matter. Knowing Alberta, we are certain she will "kick
this around"until she has explored the idea's many facets before
she adds it to her .$granary" of well-considered
philosophies.
Yet to us, the paragraph stirs up more than the old question
of"what is sin ?" We also ask, "What are weeds?"
In our childhood, we read a fairytale to the effect that there
was a Queen, who sent two Couriers thruout her
kingdomone to bring back samples of weeds and noxious herbs, and
the other to bring back flowers . The two
returned empty-banded, the weed-seeker claiming there W~s nothing
but flowers in the kingdom, and the flower-seeker
reported the land was overgrown with weeds and signs of neglect.
The two proved that what both sought was there
had they been looking for it.
We all know what weeds are. They're the things we try to get rid
of so they won't choke out plants we want to
grow
There's nothing much wors~ than a stand of persistent bermuda
grass which has crept into a flowerbed, yet in the
yard, that same grass i s fed, watered, and nurtured with all the
care one gives to the petunias, asters, and/or
marigolds. It's not WHAT the plant is-it's WHERE. Cactus
beautifies the desert, but it's not something you'd want
growiug wild on a golf course.
Not long ago, we had an example of this in our own garden. We
mulched our strawberry beds with"well-
aged"straw in the autumn, but the following spring, volunteer
wheat from that straw gave us a "devil of' a time"
before we got it under control enough to save our strawberries.
Had we been wanting wheat, those clumps of
beautiful green that came up so plentifully would have been
thrice-welcome. But they were out of place, and we
treated them with the same disrespect we did other weeds that
came up with the warmth of spring.
"Sins", it seems to us, are in the same category. What is a"sin"?
And who decides what is acceptable either to
religion or society? Even murder is condoned in time of war; in
fact, men who call themselves Itconscientious
objectors" can be-and are - punished for the .'sin*of
nonparticipation. The enemy who takes loot from a conquered
country is accused of " ravishing a I and ", w h i 1 e our own
soldiers, doing the same, are-souvenir hunters".
The parallels are endless. A bathing suit which is highly
acceptable at Hotdog Island or Hamburger Beach would
get the same wearer arrested for "in
decent exposure" at 42nd and Broadway - or even in a nightclub
(outside Las Vegas, of course). The State can
execute a convicted wrongdoer who can't afford expensive defense
attorneys, yet if a teacher or parent punishes a
child that appears incorrigible, the wrath of a dozen "protective
groups" descends upon them in indignant vengeance.
Personal adornment- jewelry, shaving, hair-dos, fancy clothing -
are .weeds" in some churches, yet almost a
necessity in others.
What, then, is a s in. an evil, a weed? Granted that there are,
or should be, taboos for the "Protection" of a
civilization that has grown too morally weak to' protect itself,
why not label these taboos what they are? Why not
admit they are man-made laws, and erase the blasphemy of giving
them religious significance?
Idaybe we've wandered a long ways from "warmth"and "weeds in the
garden ", but when y o u take up the subject
of weeds, you can, like the weeds. cover a lot of ground. it even
reminds us of an article by the hellvangelist, Billy
Graham, which runs daily in our local paper. one reader spoke of
a relative who always had lived a good, kindly life,
and asked if his deeds alode weren't enough to "save him". "NO,"
replied the great Graham."Unless he believes in
and accepts Jesus Christ, he cannot be saved"- no matter how good
and kindly a life he leads.
And that was one "weed"we dug out of our "garden"real fast-root,
billy, and graham.
Most of us are too prone to forget that we are gardenersnot mere
weed-pullers-and the plant we brand a
weed may be a prize flower in the "garden" of someone else.
And why do "sins" show up first with -religious people? It may be
because when one identifies himself with
d#religious people". he is like the Queen's courier who looks
only for weeds, and finds the kingdom overgrown with
them. Those who grow flowers are prey for missionaries who insist
we must be weed-pullers, because no matter
how many flowers one may grow, nor how beautiful they may be,
unless one believes in and accepts the theory of
weeds, one cannot enter the weed-hunter's kingdom.
Actually, there probably is no such thing as a weed - in the
popular concept of weeds being undesirable plants-
just as there probably is no such thing as"sin" -except in the
minds of the "gardeners ".
