My Favorite Essay Introduction - Now On Q. Eight One-Syllable Words

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.  – Thomas Paine
Q Alerts

***

GJ - This is always my antidote to the students' desire to open an essay with universal truths and philosophical words of many syllables.

Paine's essay kept Americans in the Revolutionary War when times were bleak, almost hopeless. Washington had Paine's essay read to the troops.

 The armor of God passage, used in Pilgrim's Progress, is frequently quoted by Q.

Those who make fun of Q probably never read the posts. Ephesians 6 and the injunction to pray for leaders - those passages have been repeatedly used by Q to guide the readers.

Q - led by Trump and some military officers - uses a method called gamification. As everyone knows, a vast amount of information is available and free, but how do leaders get people to dig into the mountain range of data and find out for themselves?

Here is a fascinating parallel between the development of Hitler, his associates and the tactics of today's rainbow revolution - Chapters linked here.

If I wanted to make a game of it, I would ask,

1. Who among Hitler's closest associates was not...?
2. Who were the philosophers of this group?
3. Who were the activists who paved the way for acceptance?
4. Why did two of Hitler's women commit suicide?

That would be far more productive for general knowledge than simply copying and pasting the chapters for readers to study or ignore. If people began debating the truth of these claims on a separate platform, even more learning would develop.

 This has been quoted by Q more than once.

Making It Rain. Two Suggestions.

 Balloon Flowers - PFC's favorite - they were a bonus for an order.

On Monday, the Military Gardening Group met for coffee, BelVita crackers, and fun with Sassy. We finally had a noisy, effective thunderstorm that morning.

Two apparent causes of the storm were:

1. Washing my car;
2. Shopping at Walmart.

I used to count on my neighbor mowing his lawn in haste, as the harbinger of rain. But most will agree that washing the car is effective anywhere. The Military Gardening Group came over Sunday, demanded my keys, and drove my 2002 Voyager away for a complete cleaning. When Ranger Bob feels he owes me something, he looks for a task and does it, no matter what I saw.

Although rain was predicted Monday morning, nothing was happening. Then I invoked the ultimate rainmaker - shopping at Walmart. Every time I go there when rain might happen, the storm develops overhead with crashing lightning and thunderous rain, which increases when I leave the store. That happened exactly so yesterday. No rain was falling when I parked. The rain began drumming on the metal roof, increased, and added overhead thunder to the mix. When I left the shelter of the store, the downpour soaked me on the way to the car, which was parked in a river of water rushing toward a major drain. I was soaked from the top down and from the soles up.

God's Creation rained down water mixed with usable nitrogen compounds, instant refreshment and perfect food for the entire pyramid of life, from the bacteria and fungus to the hawks soaring over our little Eden.

So, if you are in a dry spell and your garden in languishing, even with generous watering -

• Wash the car thoroughly and wax it, if time allows.
• Go to a store, because "it's never going to rain today."

You will blessed with rush of cold wind, the harbinger of thunderstorms, a rocking storm overhead that makes the shoppers stop to comments, a Niagara on the way back to the car, and a happy garden.

 Calladiums are fun to watch if planted where they can dominate.