I have not used this blog to comment on the national or state political scene since last fall. This action or lack of action has been the result of an explicit decision to avoid the topic. I haven't changed my mind with this post, but I will comment on not commenting on that very topic.
So many of the events of the past eight months defy traditional political analysis. Journalists have been forced to alter their practice in order to maintain some semblance of relevancy and legitimacy. Comedians and humorists are having more than enough material for their extended daily monologues and weekly columns. It is as if we are faced with a choice of crying or laughing and we choose the latter. I have asked myself the question: "Are there times when laughter as an alternative to crying is an indefensible choice?" In such cases, the laughter may well come at too great of an expense. It belittles the seriousness of the underlying situation and makes light of the potentially disastrous consequences of the behavior of those responsible for governance. I have answered this question for myself by avoiding most late night and cable comedy shows altogether. Abstinence also seems to be a good policy when it comes to limiting one's exposure to cable news. The repetitiveness within the 24 hour news cycle makes for more hype than information.
As I collected my thoughts and made a few notes as I began this post, the language of the theater clearly dominated as I considered my choice of descriptive words with which I could speak of the contemporary political scene. In addition to scene, there was actor, stage, drama, tragedy, comedy, fantasy, science fiction, minstrel show, make-up, costume, and suspension of disbelief. It is as if the script has been torn up and the director fired. Are we watching several one-man shows all taking place on a single stage at the same time?
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
When I read that La Civilta Cattolica recently published an article titled Evangelical Fundamentalism and Catholic Integralism in the USA: A Surprising Ecumenism, I had to look it up. I even printed out a copy which is now marked up by a yellow highlighter and a red pen. A read and a number of rereads have me thinking and noting connections between this piece and other recent reads.
An aside for background on this publication is warranted. The title translates as Catholic Civilization. It has been published continuously since 1850. All articles are subject to revision by and the approval of the Vatican's Secretariat of State prior to publication. The purpose of the publication is to "promote a catholic culture, thought, and civilization in the modern world. . .in fidelity to
the magisterium of the church." (Wikipedia) In other words, it is considered an official organ of the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
The article is a critical analysis of the political scene in the United States with particular emphasis on the collaboration of Christian-Evangelical fundamentalists and Catholic integralists in pursuit of their socio-political goal of "a problematic fusion between religion and state, faith and politics, religious values and economy." It points out the danger in using this particular orientation to address a full range of issues from ecological crises, to ecumenism, to religious liberty in a secular state, and to armed conflict. There is a directly stated challenge to the "non-allegorical understanding" of biblical texts with the added caution that ". . .a unidirectional reading of the biblical texts can anesthetize consciences or actively support the most atrocious and dramatic portrayal of a world. . ."
Those quotes from the article remind me of the response Noam Chomsky gave to an interviewer's question whether there were religious motivations that framed Chomsky's social justice work. The response reads: "No religious motivation, and for sound reasons. One can contrive a religious motivation for virtually any choice of action, from commitment to the highest ideals to support for the most horrendous atrocities. In the sacred texts, we find uplifting calls for peace, justice and mercy, along with the most genocidal passages in the literary canon. Conscience is our guide, whatever trappings we might choose to clothe it in." (New York Times, July 5, 2017)
Reinhold Niebuhr in his work The Irony of American History published in 1952 notes that there is a "mixture of good and evil in all human virtue" and "even the best human actions involve some guilt." When Niebuhr speaks of American exceptionalism, it is in the context of the "sin of American exceptionalism." Human communities and, most certainly, nation states claim innocence "according to their own official myth and collective memory."
I think what these three voices are saying is that any and all human endeavors fall short of perfection, if for no other reason than the simple fact they are human endeavors. Everyone and everything is a work in progress and will remain so as long as there are human actors. Niebuhr describes original sin as "the inevitable confusion between the relative (the individual in context) and the universal." Making use of the language of Christian morality, sin may be a simple and well-founded acknowledgment of the limited capacity of the human species and the individual person for perfection. Such a state is simply not attainable in either our personal lives or our corporate endeavors. Is it from this perspective that Pope Francis speaks of universal "sinner-hood" and poses the question "Who am I to judge?" The central message of the La Civilta Cattolica article is that no socio-political structure, nation state, or human organization can lay claim to absolute superiority, perfection, and the ultimate incarnation of the ideal. The human endeavor that wraps itself in the cloak of the absolute good and all others in varying degrees culminating in absolute evil is only masking its false and preposterous claim to that which is humanly impossible and that which is inhumane.
Does a moral equivalency argument have any place in Christian moral thought? Can one even raise this question with any degree of legitimacy in a discussion of New Testament Christian morality? Does it provide another angle of insight into Pope Francis' question "Who am I to judge?" Quantitatively there are manners of degree when it comes to human activity. Can such methodology be applied in Christian moral thinking? Or is there no qualitative difference that can be used to justify certain actions or ranking of actions? If this is a legitimate question and a perspective that the individual Christian is to make use of in evaluating the relative merits or moral uprightness of his/her own and the behavior of others, are we left with anything other than saints and sinners indistinguishable from one another living in anarchy or in a vision and version of heaven?
I don't have a clear answer. The message in all this may well be there are no clear answers. This is one more aspect of the human condition that is simply incapable of perfection. Wisdom, or simply old age, may be that time that has been described in various ways, one of which I will try to paraphrase: When I was young I knew lots of things with lots of certainty, now that I am older I know a lot more things with a lot less certainty.
An aside for background on this publication is warranted. The title translates as Catholic Civilization. It has been published continuously since 1850. All articles are subject to revision by and the approval of the Vatican's Secretariat of State prior to publication. The purpose of the publication is to "promote a catholic culture, thought, and civilization in the modern world. . .in fidelity to
the magisterium of the church." (Wikipedia) In other words, it is considered an official organ of the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
The article is a critical analysis of the political scene in the United States with particular emphasis on the collaboration of Christian-Evangelical fundamentalists and Catholic integralists in pursuit of their socio-political goal of "a problematic fusion between religion and state, faith and politics, religious values and economy." It points out the danger in using this particular orientation to address a full range of issues from ecological crises, to ecumenism, to religious liberty in a secular state, and to armed conflict. There is a directly stated challenge to the "non-allegorical understanding" of biblical texts with the added caution that ". . .a unidirectional reading of the biblical texts can anesthetize consciences or actively support the most atrocious and dramatic portrayal of a world. . ."
Those quotes from the article remind me of the response Noam Chomsky gave to an interviewer's question whether there were religious motivations that framed Chomsky's social justice work. The response reads: "No religious motivation, and for sound reasons. One can contrive a religious motivation for virtually any choice of action, from commitment to the highest ideals to support for the most horrendous atrocities. In the sacred texts, we find uplifting calls for peace, justice and mercy, along with the most genocidal passages in the literary canon. Conscience is our guide, whatever trappings we might choose to clothe it in." (New York Times, July 5, 2017)
Reinhold Niebuhr in his work The Irony of American History published in 1952 notes that there is a "mixture of good and evil in all human virtue" and "even the best human actions involve some guilt." When Niebuhr speaks of American exceptionalism, it is in the context of the "sin of American exceptionalism." Human communities and, most certainly, nation states claim innocence "according to their own official myth and collective memory."
I think what these three voices are saying is that any and all human endeavors fall short of perfection, if for no other reason than the simple fact they are human endeavors. Everyone and everything is a work in progress and will remain so as long as there are human actors. Niebuhr describes original sin as "the inevitable confusion between the relative (the individual in context) and the universal." Making use of the language of Christian morality, sin may be a simple and well-founded acknowledgment of the limited capacity of the human species and the individual person for perfection. Such a state is simply not attainable in either our personal lives or our corporate endeavors. Is it from this perspective that Pope Francis speaks of universal "sinner-hood" and poses the question "Who am I to judge?" The central message of the La Civilta Cattolica article is that no socio-political structure, nation state, or human organization can lay claim to absolute superiority, perfection, and the ultimate incarnation of the ideal. The human endeavor that wraps itself in the cloak of the absolute good and all others in varying degrees culminating in absolute evil is only masking its false and preposterous claim to that which is humanly impossible and that which is inhumane.
Does a moral equivalency argument have any place in Christian moral thought? Can one even raise this question with any degree of legitimacy in a discussion of New Testament Christian morality? Does it provide another angle of insight into Pope Francis' question "Who am I to judge?" Quantitatively there are manners of degree when it comes to human activity. Can such methodology be applied in Christian moral thinking? Or is there no qualitative difference that can be used to justify certain actions or ranking of actions? If this is a legitimate question and a perspective that the individual Christian is to make use of in evaluating the relative merits or moral uprightness of his/her own and the behavior of others, are we left with anything other than saints and sinners indistinguishable from one another living in anarchy or in a vision and version of heaven?
I don't have a clear answer. The message in all this may well be there are no clear answers. This is one more aspect of the human condition that is simply incapable of perfection. Wisdom, or simply old age, may be that time that has been described in various ways, one of which I will try to paraphrase: When I was young I knew lots of things with lots of certainty, now that I am older I know a lot more things with a lot less certainty.
Monday, July 17, 2017
THE QUESTIONS OF THE DAY.
As we see additional states legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, the following question comes to mind.
When will Cannabis futures be traded on the Chicago Merchantile Exchange as an agricultural commodity along with corn, soy beans, pork bellies, canners, and cutters?
What will be the unit of measure--pound, hundred weight, or bushel?
I will not be in the market to purchase and trade Cannabis futures and options. I suspect a bullish high will precede a bearish low with all paper profits going up in smoke, as it were.
Sunday, July 16, 2017
With the assistance of a forester, I have learned of the presence of several members of an invasive species in my yard. They are invasive simply by their presence well outside of their normal range. Having found their way into the local environment they certainly seem to have flourished. I will leave them right where they are; they are a whole bigger than I am by 10-fold or more. ( I could gather up a tape measure, protractor, pen, and paper and calculate a more accurate measure of their height, rather than guesstimate how many of me's would it take to stand that tall.) In addition to the disproportionate comparison of height, they are also a whole lot better looking than I.
I am speaking of a group of three Grand Fir (Abies grandis). They are known by several common names, including Western White Fir. There are two varieties and their home range is the Pacific Northwest. The home range of one, Coastal Grand Fir, (var. grandis) is the Oregon/Washington coast and the western slope of the Rockies. The home range of the other, Interior Grand Fir, (var. idahoensis) is the eastern slopes of the Rockies and the Cascades. They are reported to be hardy to zone 6. According to the United States Department of Agriculture mapping, these particular trees are currently residing in zone 5 or 5a, so they may be pushing that limit. They grow in elevations from sea level to 5,100 feet. My yard is a little more than 600 feet above sea level. One characteristic I have made note of over the years is that they don't drop cones like most pines. The 3-4" cones form only within the top 10 or so feet of the tree. The cones fall apart or disintegrate in place, if you will, approximately 6 months after pollination. One does not find intact cones, that have dried and released their seeds, on the ground. According to the forester the needles have a characteristic lemon or citrus odor when crushed or broken. (I am able to concur with this observation.) The species is a valuable source of lumber and is one of several species marketed as hem fir.
Off to the side of this small grove of Grand Fir and the several off-spring which they have produced are several White Spruce (Picea glauca). This is a species of the climax boreal forest and thrive in zones 3 through 7. A northwestern most slice of Wisconsin apparently makes the grade as boreal forest country. Therefore these folks are more native. All in all, the locals and the interlopers are getting along just fine. The Grand Fir, if true to their nature and adequately supported by the immediate environment, will continue to increasingly tower over their Spruce neighbors in the years ahead.
I can only speculate how the Grand Fir arrived in northern Wisconsin. The story is told that a previous owner of several lots in this city block was an employee of a county or state forestry department. Before these lots were developed and partially cleared for home sites, the owner planted extra seedlings that he had brought home from work. (I do not know the circumstances under which he found himself in possession of "extras.") I estimate that this all took place prior to the outbreak of World War II during the days of the WPA.
I find myself wondering if there are stands of Grand Fir elsewhere in the county. Did they thrive well and long enough to be harvested for paper making or some other wood product in the years since? Are any still standing today?
I am speaking of a group of three Grand Fir (Abies grandis). They are known by several common names, including Western White Fir. There are two varieties and their home range is the Pacific Northwest. The home range of one, Coastal Grand Fir, (var. grandis) is the Oregon/Washington coast and the western slope of the Rockies. The home range of the other, Interior Grand Fir, (var. idahoensis) is the eastern slopes of the Rockies and the Cascades. They are reported to be hardy to zone 6. According to the United States Department of Agriculture mapping, these particular trees are currently residing in zone 5 or 5a, so they may be pushing that limit. They grow in elevations from sea level to 5,100 feet. My yard is a little more than 600 feet above sea level. One characteristic I have made note of over the years is that they don't drop cones like most pines. The 3-4" cones form only within the top 10 or so feet of the tree. The cones fall apart or disintegrate in place, if you will, approximately 6 months after pollination. One does not find intact cones, that have dried and released their seeds, on the ground. According to the forester the needles have a characteristic lemon or citrus odor when crushed or broken. (I am able to concur with this observation.) The species is a valuable source of lumber and is one of several species marketed as hem fir.
Off to the side of this small grove of Grand Fir and the several off-spring which they have produced are several White Spruce (Picea glauca). This is a species of the climax boreal forest and thrive in zones 3 through 7. A northwestern most slice of Wisconsin apparently makes the grade as boreal forest country. Therefore these folks are more native. All in all, the locals and the interlopers are getting along just fine. The Grand Fir, if true to their nature and adequately supported by the immediate environment, will continue to increasingly tower over their Spruce neighbors in the years ahead.
I can only speculate how the Grand Fir arrived in northern Wisconsin. The story is told that a previous owner of several lots in this city block was an employee of a county or state forestry department. Before these lots were developed and partially cleared for home sites, the owner planted extra seedlings that he had brought home from work. (I do not know the circumstances under which he found himself in possession of "extras.") I estimate that this all took place prior to the outbreak of World War II during the days of the WPA.
I find myself wondering if there are stands of Grand Fir elsewhere in the county. Did they thrive well and long enough to be harvested for paper making or some other wood product in the years since? Are any still standing today?
Saturday, July 15, 2017
This is one of those posts that as it begins I have absolutely no idea where and how it will end. It may be very brief, and it may simply end.
Today would have been my father's 105th birthday. I don't know what it is about the number 5 and numbers ending it 5. I recall noting what would have been his 95th birthday and what was the 5th anniversary of his death, both of which occurred in 2007. These days were not marked by a passing thought of their significance in this respect, but by a certain persistent attention to, if not preoccupation with, the events of 1912 and 2002.
A Google search on the meaning of the number 5 reveals some interesting comments. Five is the number of the human being: four limbs and head and also five senses. It is also the number symbolizing marriage as it combines the female number 2 and the male number 3. I am afraid all this seems rather arbitrary, and doesn't strike me as helpful in answering my question: what is it about the number 5?
Now that I've pointed out this apparent significance to myself, I can only imagine that I will continue to dwell on the cycling of 5's going forward. I may be hooked by what occurred without any explanation during the past 10 years or the mystery of why it continues to occupy my thoughts or a combination thereof. It will not be be anniversary itself that has me thinking. It will be thinking about the anniversary that has me thinking.
Next month will mark what would have been my mother's 95th birthday. December will mark the 15th anniversary of my father's death. Two grandchildren will celebrate their 5th birthdays later this summer--one in late August and one in early September. That is a lot of 5's to think about during the remaining half of 2017. It may be best to think about the full range of 5's rather than to dwell on any one or just those with similar characteristics and emotional impacts.
Today would have been my father's 105th birthday. I don't know what it is about the number 5 and numbers ending it 5. I recall noting what would have been his 95th birthday and what was the 5th anniversary of his death, both of which occurred in 2007. These days were not marked by a passing thought of their significance in this respect, but by a certain persistent attention to, if not preoccupation with, the events of 1912 and 2002.
A Google search on the meaning of the number 5 reveals some interesting comments. Five is the number of the human being: four limbs and head and also five senses. It is also the number symbolizing marriage as it combines the female number 2 and the male number 3. I am afraid all this seems rather arbitrary, and doesn't strike me as helpful in answering my question: what is it about the number 5?
Now that I've pointed out this apparent significance to myself, I can only imagine that I will continue to dwell on the cycling of 5's going forward. I may be hooked by what occurred without any explanation during the past 10 years or the mystery of why it continues to occupy my thoughts or a combination thereof. It will not be be anniversary itself that has me thinking. It will be thinking about the anniversary that has me thinking.
Next month will mark what would have been my mother's 95th birthday. December will mark the 15th anniversary of my father's death. Two grandchildren will celebrate their 5th birthdays later this summer--one in late August and one in early September. That is a lot of 5's to think about during the remaining half of 2017. It may be best to think about the full range of 5's rather than to dwell on any one or just those with similar characteristics and emotional impacts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)