#Beatitudes #Bible #meek #peacemakers #persecuted #Christians #religious “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” These are two of the eight Beatitudes found in the gospel of Matthew in the Bible. This passage tells the story of those who are weak, mourning and persecuted being rewarded by God. But, some who practice Christianity today would rather reward those who have much. It is they who should inherit the earth. The meek be damned. Power and riches don’t necessarily equate to strength. In fact, many of those who have gone through challenges have much more strength than those for whom good fortune came naturally, or through family. The Bible tells us that those who face the most challenges are the strongest among us. When one prays for successful war, God may not answer. It’s clear from the Beatitudes that He prefers peacemakers. One can achieve strength and use it to make peace. But, merely using strength to show off what one can do is not peacemaking. It is the opposite. Some Christians today prefer to reward prosperity. Prosperity is not a sin unless it leads to greed and taking advantage of others not as fortunate. Indeed, prosperity combined with humility, generosity and integrity is a virtue. Jesus taught that we should love thy neighbors as thyself. That implies we should love our neighbors regardless of appearance or circumstance. Discrimination is a sin. Taking advantage of others less fortunate to enrich oneself is a sin. If your neighbor wrongs you, you should continue to love him as you try to right that wrong. Retribution is a sin. We should all comply with laws based on values Christians, and those of other faiths, hold dear. Arresting someone who is merely complying with the law is a sin. We should welcome those who come into our midst with open arms. Of course, they should come in peace, and they should come to do no harm. Those are bona fide Christian teachings. Anything that diverts from those teachings is something other than Christian, or any other faith. So, as you conduct your daily lies, think of the Beatitudes. Live by them. Treat others as you would wish to be treated. Always search for peace, not conflict. Of course, if you are attacked, you should defend yourself. But, never be the attacker. If you face challenges, face them with your own strength, and with help from your neighbors. If your neighbors will not help you, they must live with that. Blessed are the meek, persecuted and those who seek peace. These are the true saints among us. Peter
#JobMarket #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #CollegeDegrees #UnemploymentRate It’s been said that a college degree will open more doors than just a high school diploma. But, according to an article by Sydney Ember in the New York Times, there are fewer employers showing up at college job fairs. In fact, the article states, the unemployment rate for college graduates between ages 22 and 27 surged to 5.6 percent at the end of last year. It quotes an analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That rate outstripped the overall 4.2 percent unemployment rate at the time. “For those who were employed, more than 40 percent held jobs that do not typically require college degrees, the highest level since 2020,” the article reads. The Times story was also published March 26, 2026, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The job market probably will be in flux for many years to come. With the emergence of artificial intelligence, and other economic factors, jobs will change. The need for people will change. The article also provokes a thought: Though no education is a waste, one will have to think long and hard before committing a lot of money to college in the future. Definitely, if you don’t think you are college material, don’t waste your money, thinking a degree will somehow pay off later. AI can do a lot of things. It can accomplish menial but necessary tasks that seem to waste human time. Robots don’t need bathroom or lunch breaks, vacation time or sick time. Still, there will be a need for humans to repair them when they break down. Machines can copy. They can perform tasks based on past patterns. But, they are no substitute for human intuition, innovation or creativity. Machines also do not need college degrees to perform any tasks. So where does all this leave a young person trying to create an adult life? We’ve gone through uncertain times before. The Industrial Revolution and the invention of the computer changed work for many people. Though some people’s lives radically changed, society survived. This will be another one of those times. We as people may have to rethink how we work, how we make a living and how we advance financially. Progress cannot be stopped, despite the efforts of those who want to take the U.S. back to another bygone era. AI may also change our lifestyles. It will certainly make some chores easier, but it may make other things more challenging. Therefore, it will be incumbent upon us, particularly the younger generations, to rethink how to make a good life. That may mean thinking about whether to go to college. If you decide to go, will the investment pay off? If you have to go into debt to do it, can you pay it off in a reasonable amount of time? And, if you get a job somewhere, how long will it last? What are you going to do when one day you suddenly have lost your job? Despite these potentially difficult decisions, it’s best to stay optimistic. Pessimism and self-doubt can scramble your thought process. Regardless of what you decide, know that AI is here to stay. How can you best live with it? Peter
#vaccines #PolioVaccine #Rotary #polio #RotaryInternational #PurplePinky In an opinion piece, two academics from New York University’s Medical Ethics section touted the success of the polio vaccine, as it comes up against vaccine skeptics now regulating the nation’s health. The piece, published in the April 1, 2026, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, even had a photo of Elvis Presley getting his polio vaccine shot backstage at The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956. Nathaniel Mamo, MA, and Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., rightly say that polio is close to being eradicated BECAUSE of the vaccine, developed by Jonas Salk through research funding by what was then called the March of Dimes. But, what the doctors fail to mention is the role of Rotary International in distributing the vaccine worldwide, as it still does. By Rotary’s count, polio cases are down to a few in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As the academics point out, the vaccine skeptics argue that sanitation has improved enough to prevent an increase in cases. Sanitation has improved, but the poliovirus can easily spread if enough people decide not to get vaccinated. By extension, they may not get their children vaccinated. If the disease spreads, all of Rotary International’s efforts over many decades will not have been wasted, but the progress will be slowed. Certainly, getting all those folks in all those countries vaccinated was no small task. Rotary faced all kinds of obstacles to get the vaccine into people. In fact, on April 28, 2026, Rotary District 6780 in East Tennessee will have its annual Purple Pinky Day. Buy a box of 10 doughnuts from participating Dunkin’ stores for $25, and proceeds will be matched 7.5 times toward the eradication of polio through vaccinations. If you live in East Tennessee and you’d like to participate, contact your local Rotary club to order your doughnuts. If you don’t like doughnuts, you can also donate money to Rotary’s Polio Plus campaign. Those donations also will be matched 7.5 times. The clubs will be taking doughnut orders through April 9 (April 13 for some clubs), and the clubs will advise you on how you can pick up your doughnuts. If you don’t live in East Tennessee, check your local Rotary club to find out when they will have Purple Pinky campaigns. It’s called Purple Pinky Day because, as people got their polio vaccines, one of their pinkies was dipped in a purple dye to tell those distributing the vaccines that they had been vaccinated. So, the NYU folks are correct. We all should be vaccinated against polio. Science has demonstrated for decades the vaccine’s effectiveness. And, one can thank Rotary International for spearheading the campaign to help those around the world who may not have ready access to the vaccine get it. Polio and other diseases are either preventable, or their effects can be minimized through vaccines that have been properly tested. Those who cast doubt on proven vaccines are doing a disservice to the nation, the world and overall health. But, creating and testing vaccines and making them available may not be enough. Organizations like Rotary have to make it their mission to make sure the vaccines are widely available. If it succeeds in eradicating polio, Rotary undoubtedly will move on to conquering other diseases worldwide. Distributing vaccines is the most effective and efficient way to do that. Peter
