All societies have a framework in which they participate. A framework that loses the participation of those capable of holding it up will fail. The lesson of the three revolutions is that those whose support has been withdrawn are expected to have considered seriously both human nature and the available alternatives without being caught by the utopian trap.
The oldest, and hence most easy to explain framework is a monarchy with an aristocratic governing class. The framework is visible. Its flaws are evident to casual inspection: the untethered greed of those in office for power, money, and adulation are easy to see. What is missing, from a Christian perspective is the realization that the peasantry, too, is made in the image of God, and should be respected in its role.
It is important to note that this respect is not a matter of what people think, and whether in some particular way of thinking, they deserve respect. Thinking differently is not a matter that causes a lack of respect: acting as though that respect is not owed does.
The ancien regime in France lost the support of the country because it did not respect those who were not confined to Versailles. The clergy lost respect because they participated in the subjugation of the country by encouraging the treatment of the burghers and the peasantry as tools, rather than people. So far, so good. But now we come to the second problem: those who withdrew their support were caught up in a fantasy about a country that satisfied everyoneâs needs perfectly, and perfectly reflected the emerging scientific consensus that people were machines to be ordered in the laziest possible way: by treating them as interchangeable. They were all the same in the same way a pile of sand was all the same. And the wildest flights of fancy about a perfect world, complete with renaming the months and asserting that the social will was perfectly reflected in the actions of an unchecked assembly. The many constitutions France produced afterward veered in several directions attempting to correct these problems.
The point of studying history is to realize that people mess things up, and you should put restraints on those who rule, knowing that they will be proud, and venal, and insufferable to the extent they are allowed to be.
The Russian Revolution at the beginning of the 20th century also ended up with utopian goals. People are not meant for utopia. And the problem of treating people as machines to be programmed did not disappear in this case, either.Over the course of the century, a huge literature was produced attempting to explain why things werenât working, or how they were working in some way that would allow the problems that remained. The American President Ronald Reagan made a study, not of this literature, but of the jokes that were told by the people subjected to this failure, all of which pointed out the problems in the most indirect way. Once again, a large portion of Soviety withdrew its support for the regime. Once again, little consideration was given to the problem of a society which had to have rulers and restrain them at the same time. Constitutions were enacted, and ignored rather that re-written. A different solution than Franceâs, but no less enlightening to the student of history.
What is the point of all this?
It is that unless the governing class is prepared to treat its citizens as possessing the right to disagree, to argue, to propose alterations, to, in a word, listen, the government produced will lead to the withdrawal of those whose support is necessary to its continuance. The United States is currently wrestling with its own utopian temptation by those who donât wish to listen to their fellow citizens. I will watch the outcome with interest.
Brilliant advertising: came with a link on Instacart. Clicked the link. All good. I thought it was time to get the travel laptop I needed. Able to specify the product, add a mouse, limited AppleCare. Says available locally quickly. Great! Try to check out the cart.
And now I hit the problem. Not satisfied with selling me a computer, they want me to log in or create an account on their website, so they can choke my already overwhelmed email with more ads.
Taking a new direction is often difficult without guidance. Here is my most recent mistake: the Medical Guardian. Why a mistake? Let me list a few things:
1. It arrived with a pre-filled out service agreement: a nice idea, until you realize that the service agreement is filled out for someone other than you, complete with phone numbers and friendsâ names.
2. It's service agreement assumes that you donât leave your home, and that you authorize people to break down the door to get to you.
3. It is set up to use only dedicated landline phones, which are neither common nor available in my area.
Summary: cute idea, entirely unsuitable for the purpose of helping out someone who drives long distances to see friends or sights.
My wife has died. I am now a widower. Iâm actually having a very hard time paying attention to things mostly Iâm reviewing conversations in my head that I had with her.
With the help of my sister, I am living in a house in Scottsdale, Arizona. The weather is beautiful year-round. Very warm in the summer temperate and lovely in the winter. The state is full of exciting places to explore. I am a full-time caregiver for my daughterâs dog, who has transitioned from pet to emotional support dog. Itâs useful to have someone to talk to, even if they wonât understand, though she tries very hard.
I am a parishioner at Christ Church Phoenix, an Anglican parish under the Anglican Church of North America. The enjoyment that I had in the Episcopal Church with a liturgy, which would repeat and teach me, even when the clergy that I had to work with so firmly did not believe in Christianity, itâs nice to be among people who believe that Jesus is Lord. The advantage of a liturgy is that I repeat over and over and eventually learn theology while I understand that there are again new versions of the Bible that are official for the church, I am sticking for the one that has been around for the last 400 years, the king James Bible. The advantage of a Bible thatâs been around that long is that you have 400 years worth of people saying let me help you understand this passage. There are passages I need that kind of help on.
Would you care to spend a bit of time hearing about ghosted and ghoulies and scary tales? The Magnus Archives podcast is that. Itâs ad-free on Amazon Music, but available online with a quick search on Google.
Each episode begins with a report recorded by the archivist of The Magnus Institute, followed by attempts to confirm or discount the story, not all of which are convincing.
Well done. Worth the time. Recommended to me by Jo Williams, who handled sound and lights for stage productions, of Emerson College.
Trump brought down the unemployment rate for Hispanics, and his economy was good for my friends who worked in small businesses. Gas prices were better, too.
But if you want my ideal presidential nominee, look back at Calvin Coolidge.
From his book The Null Prophecy, a surprisingly good summary of the dilemma:
âFirst off, youâre not a bad person for wanting to be free. Who doesnât want to be free from people and things that make demands on us? Who doesnât want to be free from a conscience that rubs our weaknesses in our face? From a God who seems to let bad things happen?
âBut what does freedom look like without all those burdens? Itâs not very pretty, either. If we only do what we want, when we want, we become slaves to our own selfishness. Itâs not attractive, and it sure isnât freedom.â
Controversial title? Not so much if you watch what liberals do. They make life more difficult for those not at the pinnacle of power without a qualm.
Hereâs an easy example: if you need a small loan to meet an emergency before your next paycheck, the only real source is a loan shark. Yep, heâs a crook, and yes, the interest will be usurious, but you will get the money. Politicians and banks only lend to important or wealthy people.
Why? Because the government has shut down all lenders who might otherwise meet that need legally. Because the crooks pal around with politicians. Because the media doesnât care about the middle class, or only as a word to criticize those out of power. Pickâ¦
These are Hallmark Holidays: days of treacly sentiment masquerading as respect.
Unless, of course, you show up to church. Then you will see an amazing contrast: on Mother's Day, treacly sentiment combined with outright flattery for the courage and strength of mothers; on Father's Day, a condemnation of fatherhood as it was understood for millennia, with the not so hidden message suggesting that fathers stop messing things up and get out of the way of their wives, who will run the household just fine without them.
And then comes the disengagement of fathers, who have been told to quit paying attention to places where they are not wanted. Many of them will seek out people who do want them, sometimes as mistresses, or replacement wives, only to contribute to the devastation of their children, whom they are not supposed to parent anyway. Wives look around at the divorced women who get independence along with cash and prizes and wonder if they shouldn't get out while the getting is good and see if they can stick the landing and get a more successful husband. Their girlfriends will encourage this, never telling them the truth about age correlated remarriage rates.
Churches might profitably study what the Bible says, and remove the spectacles that require that they flatter women. They might also realize that they should focus on sins that beset their own congregations, instead of the straw men they spend their time criticizing.
âIf names are not correct, words do not follow truth. If words do not follow truth, work does not succeed. If work does not succeed, courtesy and music do not flourish and proper punishments will not be ordered. When proper punishments are not given, people do not know how to move hand or foot.
âTherefore, a gentleman must use appropriate names so that what he orders will be carried out properly. He must abhor incorrect words.â
From Analects of Confucius, 13.3 "Zilu"
Heâs right. The first move is to battle for proper names of things. Leftists will oppose this every step of the way.
It is an ongoing battle in political discussions to be able to use the right words. My most common defensive position is to insist that words mean what they mean in the Concise Oxford Dictionary of 1911, but itâs a battle to get clear statements from Leftists.
Don Surber, a retired journalist from Poca, WV, said it well:
âOver the weekend, Jim Hoft, the founder of Gateway Pundit, a popular conservative web site, used the phrase âassigned male at birthâ in a story about a 17-year-old boy pretending to be a girl who then beat the hell out of a real girl in the girlsâ room at school.
âOh come on. Stop it. The phrase is loaded communist doubletalk that undermines a belief in God, rationalizes abortion and accepts the very concept that a man can will himself into being a woman. I try not to speak stupid lies and try to speak the truth. (Pats himself on the back.)
âLet me explain the God part. The Lord does not assign you a sex; he creates you as a man or a woman depending on your place in His plan.
âThe lefty pitch to kids for changing sexes is you are assigned by the doctor and doctors make mistakes. This eliminates God. Always keep in mind that the devilâs greatest trick is not in making people believe he doesnât exist, but in making people believe God doesnât.â
I say sensitivity because it is obvious she is dancing around the edge of a live grenade, and worried about being blown up. So, points for courage in a difficult situation. She is being respectful of the grenade-minded, while making a solid legal point. She also restricts it to the law school, since few people would argue that undergraduates are able to reason and argue cogently, especially after reading their essays. Apparently, undergraduates are not expected to learn how to persuade people, and will simply demonstrate their contempt for anyone who disagrees with them, instead. Too bad.
I used to enjoy old time radio mysteries. They were typically static filled recordings that took effort to follow, but the fun was worth it.
For the past two weeks, Iâve been listening to a collection of recordings by Jim French, done in Washington State in the 90s and the oughts at the Kirkland. High quality recordings in front of a live audience, well written mysteries starring his detective Harry Nile. I understand there are collections on Audible as well as CDs.
My other recommendation is Jim Vermilyeâs recording of The Pilgrimâs Progress. Itâs a great story, well told, with updated language. Look on Amazon.
Sit back with your beverage of choice and listen. Enjoy!
From this website the five stages of grief. They don't need to involve death: they can be triggered by a young man wanting to dance ballet.
In my case, they have been triggered by my wife's dementia. She's not dead, though at this point I might as well be for all the recognition I get when walking through the door. The good news is that acceptance, coupled with trust in God (or faith) brings peace. Eventually.
God is good and acts only out of the goodness that is his character. Always.
Isaiah 8:11-13a âFor the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying âSay ye not, âA confederacyâ to all the people to whom this people shall say âa confederacyâ; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself: and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread, and he shall be for a sanctuaryâ¦â
This speaks to us in America right now. We are instructed by many people that we should be âalliesâ of certain groups, and that we should behave in certain, âaffirming ways toward those groups and toward everyone else. But they are not the standard we follow: we are natural allies of those that fear God, and worship him. We are not really allies of those who do not. If they are willing to come with us and worship, we may have something to talk about. If not, we do not fear them or their standards, but the Lord of Hosts.
Fox Tail Milo Winter (1919) A Fox that had been caught in a trap, succeeded at last, after much painful tugging, in getting away. But he had to leave his beautiful bushy tail behind him.
For a long time he kept away from the other Foxes, for he knew well enough that they would all make fun of him and crack jokes and laugh behind his back. But it was hard for him to live alone, and at last he thought of a plan that would perhaps help him out of his trouble.
He called a meeting of all the Foxes, saying that he had something of great importance to tell the tribe.
When they were all gathered together, the Fox Without a Tail got up and made a long speech about those Foxes who had come to harm because of their tails.
This one had been caught by hounds when his tail had become entangled in the hedge. That one had not been able to run fast enough because of the weight of his brush. Besides, it was well known, he said, that men hunt Foxes simply for their tails, which they cut off as prizes of the hunt. With such proof of the danger and uselessness of having a tail, said Master Fox, he would advise every Fox to cut it off, if he valued life and safety.
When he had finished talking, an old Fox arose, and said, smiling:
âMaster Fox, kindly turn around for a moment, and you shall have your answer.â
When the poor Fox Without a Tail turned around, there arose such a storm of jeers and hooting, that he saw how useless it was to try any longer to persuade the Foxes to part with their tails.
Moral
Do not listen to the advice of him who seeks to lower you to his own level.
When those who have nothing to say can only speak in the voices of others, and demand that you do, too, remember.
When those who canât deal with their own perverse desires demand your applause and praise for their actions, remember.
When those unwilling to run the risk inherent in trying something new demand that you not do it either, remember.
When those who promise society will be better if we all think alike rather than think for ourselves, remember.
When you encounter an aggressive marketing scheme promising you a better future if youâre not like everyone else, remember.
When someone promises life will be better if you agree or cooperate with them rather than keep on doing what has worked before, remember.
When someone demands that you make them safe rather than show them how to be safe, remember.
The title of volume 3 is âThe Light Of The Worldâ. Itâs the villain that caught my attention: from a Southeast Asian gnostic cult.
The cult is introduced well, and Gnosticism is introduced sympathetically. Thatâs a trick in itself, but the author does a good job. It resolves as an East vs. West style, with the Shadow coming off as Western, despite his Tibetan training.
