I've learned from experience that the results are not very good sometimes. Some of my childhood spankings were a result of my not thinking before I spoke or acted. Sometimes, as kids growing up, we just do things because they are fun, and be damned the consequences. Well, now and then the parents, teachers, or neighbors didn't appreciate the fun and the "damned" consequences became reality.

By now, some of you are probably thinking, what's the old codger trying to tell us. Why doesn't he just quit the prattle and spit it out.

Pragmatic thinking does not require wishful thinking, dreams, or miraculous intervention from a higher power. That doesn't mean we don't wish for things, dream, or believe in miracles. Wishes and dreams seldom come to fruition with out someone putting some concrete plans and actions into play. Miracles aren't always events or actions that defy nature. The timing of earthquakes, fires, floods, wars, etc. are just as miraculous in the Old Testament scriptures as the events themselves might have been. After all, those events occur daily without the need of explanation as miracles. That is not to say that God couldn't or didn't intervene in nature and cause events to happen. We are human and we like to validate our interpretation of the event by declaring it a miracle. Or, we declare the event a myth because we don't believe in miracles. A devout Christian and an avowed Atheist may come to the same opinion and recommend the same action, but with a totally different pragmatic process of thought to get there.

In the world of politics, ideology that isn't supported with reasoned and intentional action is not always truthful. What I just said is that the pragmatic reasoning doesn't always support or produce the professed ideology. The end result doesn't end up being what the 'spin' said it would be. Those who criticize President Obama for being an academic pragmatist have been pragmatic themselves in laying out their program. Their goal is to defeat President Obama and prevent the Democratic majority in congress from fulfilling most of their goals and promises made in the last campaign. They have been very pragmatic in the development of their agenda.

The argument over whose science is junk and whose isn't does not mean one discipline is pragmatic and the other one isn't. In the argument over global warming or climate change, both sides are very pragmatic in their thinking and reasoning. They have quite differing goals for the outcome of their actions. Some of us enter the fray without any reasoned thinking of our own. We dutifully fwd the endless fwds without even considering their accuracy or who may have cleverly assembled the statistics or politically correct words to sway opinion. Those swayed opinions are more or less based on dream, wishful thinking, or dependence upon miraculous intervention (God will make it right). The authors of those emails are not depending on dreams or miracles. They have carefully selected the words or pictures to be as forceful as possible. That is being pragmatic.

Folks, don't you wish the weather would clear up so this opinionated pragmatic old farmer could get out of this prison cell with it's computer and go to work? Seriously, I wish more of our listed authors would contribute articles and more people would respond with comments. The most brilliant journalistic minds are wasted if they don't share their brilliance with readers. This KFP newspaper isn't going to fire anyone, even if they aren't brilliant. Proof? I ain't been fired yet. Put your fingers to the keyboard and let's hear it.