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Greetings and Welcome to The 405 Coffee Break with O.K. Solberg
New episodes tend to air over the local KMMR radio station @ 5 minutes past 4PM each M-F. And have been doing so, nearly every week since Sept 2018.
I'm D.J. Rasmussen, O.K.s friend since junior high, possibly your neighbor & this websites maintainer, whom strives to get each episode's show notes written, the transcript proofed and the audio posted to the internet within a few hours of that days KMMR air time. NOTE: recently been publishing most new releases by 4:30PM.
Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy the time we can spend together.
I wanna again welcome you to The 405 Coffee Break. Guys, windy out there. Pull down your cap, get your cup of coffee, glass iced tea. You know the routine. Let's see what's happening.
OK Solberg:Spring wheat big jump, $6.44 a bushel going in the right way. In Billings, the 7 Hangin 7 Ranch from Grass Range sold nine bred cows, 3 years of age, 9 bred cows, brought $4,200 a head. A 100lb fat lamb in Billings stand right about where it has been $2.94 a pound. But guys, there's more, much more.
OK Solberg:Today, it's not baseball. It's not music. It isn't anything from the 1960's or 70's. It's not even old Phillips County News tidbits. Today, something special. Today, we're gonna study Socrates. What do you know about Socrates? When did he live? Where did he live? What did he do?
OK Solberg:What were his passions? Sit back, roll up your sleeves, and let's get enlightened. It reminds me of a proverb in the book of Proverbs 4:7 The beginning of wisdom is this, get wisdom and whatever you get, get insight. That was Proverbs four verse seven.
OK Solberg:Sit down children and hear his story. See, there once lived a man who owned no palace, commanded no army, wrote no book, and held no office. Yet more than 2000 years after his death, the world still remembers his name and speaks of him. Socrates was born around 470bc, in the city of Athens. While kings fought wars and politicians gave speeches, Socrates walked the dusty streets asking questions.
OK Solberg:Simple questions, really. Questions so simple, they made powerful men feel uncomfortable. He would stop craftsmen, soldiers, merchants, poets, and even young students. And with calm words and a patient thought, he would ask them what they believed and why they believed it. One afternoon, a proud young soldier claimed he understood courage better than anyone.
OK Solberg:Socrates looked at him kindly and asked, tell me then, what is courage? The soldier answered answered quickly, courage is charging into battle and never retreating. Socrates nodded slowly. I see. Then if a man blindly rushes into certain death without thought or reason, is he courageous?
OK Solberg:Well, the soldier hesitate, not if he is foolish. Oh, so courage requires wisdom, Socrates asks. Well, yes, I suppose it does. And if a general orders a retreat to save his men for another day, is that being a coward? Oh, no.
OK Solberg:No, said the soldier. Sometimes retreat is the wise thing. Then courage is not simply standing and fighting. The young man shifted his feet. Well, perhaps not always.
OK Solberg:Socrates continued gently. Is the brave man the one who feels no fear or the one who understands fear and still does what is right? Oh, the 2nd one, the soldier answered. And what is right? Socrates asked.
OK Solberg:The young man opened his mouth then stopped. The crowd around them grew quiet. Socrates was not mocking him. He was leading him step by step, question by question, until the man discovered that the thing he thought he understood he never truly had examined at all. That was Socrates' gift.
OK Solberg:No speeches, no applause, just questions. Simple questions. Socrates taught that truth is not found by blindly accepting labels, loyalties, reputation, or popular opinion, but by honestly questioning, carefully examining, and thoroughly testing every idea before accepting it as true. And friend, that is a dangerous business in any age because people do not always enjoy having their certainty examined. The leaders of Athens began to resent him.
OK Solberg:Some accused him of corrupting the youth. Others believed he challenged the traditions and authority of the city itself. But Socrates never claimed to be the wisest man alive. In fact, he often said the wisest man is the one who understands how little he truly knows. Eventually, the city put the old philosopher on trial.
OK Solberg:Guess what, guys? A jury found him guilty. What was his sentence? Death. Now he could have escaped. Friends offered him the chance. The prison doors were not impossible to slip through, but Socrates believed a man must live by principle even when the cost is high.
OK Solberg:So in the year 399bc at roughly 70 years of age, Socrates calmly drank a cup of poisonous hemlock. And there, surrounded by friends and students, the old teacher died not with a sword in his hand, but with conviction in his heart. One of those students was Plato who would preserve the memory and teachings of his teacher for generations to come.
OK Solberg:And through Plato, the questions of Socrates travel across centuries. Questions that still echo today. What is justice? What is virtue? What is truth? Questions asked long ago in the streets of Athens by an old man who believed an unexamined life was no life at all. The end. Just thought you'd like to know.
OK Solberg:So until next time, as you go out there, remember now, don't be bitter.