tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141070.post7053365013488959180..comments2023-12-09T00:49:20.257-05:00Comments on WWVB : What Would Vannevar Blog?: Oaths and OathersVannevarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513110035186346571noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141070.post-20551558974805147212015-04-08T15:21:14.324-04:002015-04-08T15:21:14.324-04:00And I just saw this post over there on the left of...And I just saw this post over there on the left of your blog, from Ta-Nehisi, that seems to fit so well with what I feel. Virtue, honesty, oath-keeping are not so much about inherent character or goodness as the continued caring and will toward skill, the determination to keep trying to do better with each other, to learn, practice, over and over and over again together, in relationship, despite our many failures. No vacuum of perfection exists but better and worse behavior with each other most certainly does matter and my own oath now sets a standard toward which I strive.<br /><br />A Quick Note on Getting Better at Difficult Things: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/a-quick-note-on-getting-better-at-difficult-things/387133/Helen Gerhardthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07010369817073080001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141070.post-59887977462146858142015-04-08T15:11:23.238-04:002015-04-08T15:11:23.238-04:00Van, thanks for your wonderful, thoughtful respons...Van, thanks for your wonderful, thoughtful response both here and at over at the new blog. I am in fact writing from the perspective of an oath-breaker. And then also an oath-keeper. A breaker-keeper. No gold here, but a learning curve, and the hard-learned experience that we ALL need good systems of mutual commitment and accountability to carry through on anything larger than our own limited selves.Helen Gerhardthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07010369817073080001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141070.post-14115069997515206412015-04-08T15:10:21.616-04:002015-04-08T15:10:21.616-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Helen Gerhardthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07010369817073080001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141070.post-26707157511009838882015-04-08T09:57:01.683-04:002015-04-08T09:57:01.683-04:00Speaking entirely off the top of my head, one diff...Speaking entirely off the top of my head, one difference betwixt oaths and contracts is that an oath is self-oriented; "I have made a commitment to do X." Contracts are generally conditional: "I will do X if you do Y."<br /><br />Or, another way to look at it is that oaths are kept (or broken) primarily as a result of one's own character; contracts may be voided by the choices of others.Reddanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09540632785846685165noreply@blogger.com