FEBRUARY 3, 2008

I keep two calendars on my bureau in my room - the current year and the previous year. I do this to keep track of my weight on a day to day basis. This year I have a weigh in figure for a day that doesn't even exist most years. That day is February 29, a day that exists only once every four years on the calendar. This is so because over the centuries we have learned that our marking of time does not line up exactly with the precession of the sun and moon and stars and the universe. So, we have to fiddle with the calendar to make things come out even. If we did not do this periodically, we would eventually be observing summer in months that say it is winter.

We have long known that our arbitrary assigning of the passage of time to 24 hour days, 7 day weeks, 30 or 31 day months and 12 month years is not a simple, clean and effective way of keeping track. In fact, many calendars have been invented that are straightforward, efficient, and far simpler ways of marking time: everything can be made to come out nice and neat. These new calendars have very precise and consistent "days", "weeks", "months",etc. It is a more logical, rational, and demonstrably better way to do it. But nobody to this point has seriously wanted to make a change.

The same is true for measurements of distance and weight. The metric system is a simpler and more reasonable way to compare how big, or far, or much something is in comparison of other things. But we here in America cling to our strange "inches" and "miles" and "pounds" and "ounces" and "quarts". Even though metric is the law for the past 25 years in the US, nobody to this point seems to want to make a change.

Then there is the keyboard that I am typing on now. The original placement of the letters came about deliberately to slow people down because the early typewriters could not mechanically keep up with fast human fingers. Things have changed, especially with computers, and many more logical and definitely quicker configurations have been developed, but we still all use the asdf jkl; home keys, even though it is slower and more work. A better way of doing things goes undone because nobody to this point wants to make a change.

There are other examples as well, such as the invented language called Esperanto, which is more consistent, coherent, and easy to speak and understand in grammar, construction and vocabulary than any currently living tongue. But nobody wants to make the change from their native speech. Or there have been many attempts to standardize English spelling, according to phonetics, but the dictionary remains as complex as it is, because nobody wants to make a change.

It is Lent. It is definitely better to be a person of virtue and discipline than an unrepentant sinner. It is more logical and rational and demonstrably an advancement to celebrate Easter as an improved individual than an unrenewed one. All it takes is for somebody, nay everybody, to want and then make the change. When Easter comes, will we still be using the moral equivalent of the Leap Year calendar, the home key typewriter, the non-metric system, or will we improve?