Nations that face peril need revival from the bottom to the top, but must include the wisdom of the elite. Our leadership class must look for answers that fit the beliefs of the people and not just turn to esoteric ideas that fit an international educated class. Simultaneously, to avoid destruction, we must glean the wisdom of our academic aristocrats. This is hard. Too often the elite and the folk are insulated from each other and learn to despise the wisdom... Read more
I watched the first tower come down and walked to school knowing the world was changed. As I approached my office, I saw a group of students and stopped to listen. They were complaining that there were screens in the hall and class had been dominated by discussion of the incident. One complained that in that pre-Netflix world they would be stuck with news on the screen all weekend. One put it bluntly: “World Trade Center. World Trade Center. I... Read more
Blue Bloods is so rare one could think it a miracle. There is a Catholic religious family named Reagan. Tom Selleck, my generation knew him as Magnum P.I., is in the eighth season of attacking racism and supporting the police. Selleck heads a workmanlike cast that has been blessed with outstanding writers. If you have not seen a television program support the sanctity of the confessional, the job of a priest, and show why this is a hard thing to do in a secular... Read more
Floods. Hurricanes. Fires. If we are depending on externals, then these are stressful times. Read more
Truth is precious and error is easy. If you love your children, you hope they love the truth. As a Christian, I naturally hope my (now adult) children will embrace goodness, truth, and beauty. My experience (four grownup theists!) and years of teaching (mostly college) suggests there are two good ideas and one very bad idea. Here is the bad idea: trying to make or manipulate one’s kids to accept reason. I would not make them if I could. Why? Mind control is a kind... Read more
During tropical storm Harvey, we prayed. Prayer works, but evidently, that statement of fact drives some people quite barmy. Here is a comment I got for some reflective (not philosophical) pieces on surviving this horrible storm. The first sentence is worth the read. Such larks! Read more
I am sitting listening to Styx sing Come Sail Away on vinyl. This is not a great song. If you are under the age of fifty, you will (at best) smile, shudder at the electronic bridge, and mentally scream when angels take us away in their starship. Yet there was a time when this was my anthem, my challenge to life, at least the part that said: “I will try, Lord, I will try, to carry on.” As a result, I have heard it... Read more
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I am tired. You get tired in a flood, because decisions keep coming, even if our problems are nothing compared to the suffering church in Syria or even what others in our community face. I am not complaining, I am even thankful, just tired. We are blessed as a family and a school community, because our house and school are intact. We are hurting, because members of our church and school are hurting. They have lost cars, homes, and a... Read more
We tend to valorize our life and magnify our importance. We try to make a story of our life as if we were the star of our own movie. This is a mistake, though a natural one. The mistake depends on human psychology, but also on some metaphysical truths that are easy to understand. There is a God. God has a plan. God loves you. God has a good plan for you. All of this is true and can be believed based on best... Read more
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