Granny Hat watched portions of former President Jimmy Carter’s memorial at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. and immediately took a walk down memory lane to the 1980’s. A firm believer in rote repetition, she acquired a fabulous set of presidential flashcards for her homeschool history class. Don’t worry, Granny has always believed in educational inclusion – teaching both facts and ramifications. The American spirit, the dream of freedom, great stories of our heritage & heroes were included in the memorization exercises.
Her kids dutifully played along, coming up with funny ways to remember who was who. William Henry Harrison had extremely messy HAIR growing in all the wrong directions. Millard Fillmore looked rather like his favorite requests at state dinners were “FILL” and “MORE”. James Buchanon had a tousle of hair sticking straight up in the air as if shot out of a CANON. Hey, creative mnemonics can help!
William Henry Harrison Millard Fillmore James Buchanon
Granny’s students lived for a specific moment in the exercise. They repeated POTUSes #1 – #33, giggling over the above-mentioned leaders. Then the excitement began building at Dwight D. Eisenhower because that’s who was president when mom was born, quieted a bit over J.F. K. because his story was sad, grew exponentially over LBJ, Mr. Watergate and Gerald Ford, suddenly exploding in wild, abandoned dancing on the couch cushions while yelling in rhythm “Jimmy Carter, Peanut Farmer, Jimmy Carter, Peanut Farmer!” The Gipper and the Never – Inhale guy were mere after -thoughts tagged on at the end. It was pure fun learning about the presidents.
Granny Hat has long thought that the beloved Peanut Farmer was a conflicted man. He identified as deeply religious, practiced humanitarianism and yet sold his country down the river. He was a devoted family man but his socialist views undermined the values that protect country and family. This was illustrated poignantly at his memorial service.
The former presidents & first ladies and dignitaries filed in to the somber tunes of Jean Sibelius’ Finlandia, known as the hymn Be Still My Soul:
“Leave to Thy God to order and provide, In every change He faithful will remain. Be still my soul, when change and tears are past, All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.” Katharina von Schlegel from Psalm 46
So far, so good. But…….later, after the eulogies, Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood stood up to sing Jimmy Carter’s favorite song, Imagine by John Lennon. As they sang, many of the recent POTUSes and their wives showed evident emotion and rapt admiration for the lyrics:
“Imagine there’s no heaven, it’s easy if you try, No hell below us, above us only sky. Imagine all the people living for today. (Woohoo) You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one, I hope someday you’ll join us and the world will live as one.”
Imagine is the true anthem of the left. Denizens of the swamp have marched in anarchy for decades to the atheistic imaginations of a dead, communist musician. Somehow, our entire nation has been beguiled into trusting such imaginations and look where we are. Granny mourns for her country, for her people, for the confused and the lost. Have we perhaps let our imaginations get the better of us?
“But it was just my imagination, running away with me, just my imagination running away with me….” The Temptations
Don’t worry, Granny doesn’t think all imaginations and dreams are bad, but she certainly knows better than to trust Her’s all the time. Imagination is a gift from God. It is a tool for art, poetry, creative problem solving etc. We must be careful not to make idols of our thoughts and imaginations. Dreams need to be examined to see if they line up with truth.
Oh dear, Granny may have progressed from singing the blues (see last post – Baby Boomer Blues) to preaching to the choir. Maybe she should apologize but sorry, she’s not sorry. She is forced to ask, “can imagination and truth live together in perfect harmony?” She won’t be adding any possessive pronouns to “truth” either. She isn’t talking about your truth or my truth or their truth. She is referring to THE truth.
Maybe the answer lies in the order of things. Should we imagine first and then try to forcibly fashion our dreams into truths? Or do we take up truth as a banner and use our imagination to display, articulate and celebrate it?
Consider these quotes. Truth or just imagination?
“The power of imagination makes us infinite”. John Muir
“The future is not there waiting for us. We create it by the power of imagination.” ~ Vilayat Inayat Khan
“Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination. Take a look and you’ll see into your imagination.” Willy Wonka
John Ondraznik of Five for Fighting released a captivating song in 2006, titled World. Granny Hat really likes the tune and feel of the song but when she focuses on the lyrics, she has to ask. Does history start now?
World
Got a package full of wishes, A time machine, a magic wand, A globe made out of gold. No instructions or commandments,
Laws of gravity or indecisions to uphold.
Printed on the box I see Acme’s built a world to be
Take a chance, grab a piece
Help me to believe it.
What kind of world do you want?
Think anything
Let’s start at the start
Build a masterpiece
Be careful what you wish for
History starts now…
Should there be people or peoples?
Money, funny pedestals for fools who never pay
Raise your army, choose your steeple
Don’t be shy, the satellites can look the other way
Lose the earthquakes, keep the faults
Fill the oceans without the salt
Let every man own his own hand
Can you dig it, baby?
What kind of world do you want?
Be careful what you wish for
Start now
Granny Hat asks her readers to consider these thoughts:
“He who has imagination without learning has wings but no feet.” ~ Joseph Joubert
“A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his own imagination. Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, but humility goes before honor.” Proverbs 18:11-12
“We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
Granny Hat 