Hope in these times

For some of us, it's been tough to stay hopeful in these political times.

The rancor of the long campaign, the fear of the continued inability of congress to work together, the ongoing stoking of fear of people who practice a different religion (or none) or who weren't born here or have a different color of skin--all these weigh us down. The maddening rantings of the political commentators on both sides tire us out. Even the people who are happy with the election results continue to be angry. It can make a person want to take a Rip Van Winkle length nap.

But, I think politics are inevitable and important. I think democracy (or a republic as we have) is a superior form of government. I think these tough times are a natural part of the cycle of all societies. Our fortune in the United States is that the cycles are relatively short--our good times come around more often and our bad times don't last for decades. Sometimes when things are dark, it can be helpful to take a longer view.

These words from Melville's Moby Dick are as relevant today as when written in 1856.

"Take shelter from the storm; stay not too long in the sun. Prayer is the shelter from despair; good work for others is the obligation of joy at home."

...this life

I like cookbooks. I have too many cookbooks. I hardly ever use any of them and have never used a couple of them. And yet, like a child drawn to brightly colored cereal boxes on the lower shelves at the grocery stores, I'm drawn to them at the bookstores and I keep buying them, and like the boxes of cereal that sit on the shelf, tried but left to get stale, so do my cookbooks.

What they are is a symbol of the life I imagine I want to be living.

In my real life, the dishes are mismatched, the napkins are the cheapest I can buy, and you might have to fill your plate in the kitchen and carry it to the dining room table yourself. Most likely the meal will be one I've made a hundred, if not thousand, times before. There's a high probability it will contain ground beef and/or cream of something soup. Its a good day when I remember vegetables and a really good day when they're fresh (not canned or frozen).

I want to be a better cook. I want to produce pretty as a picture meals. I want to make each get together with friends a culinary event to remember. The cookbooks are full of possibilities. They are a subtle form of self help book -- buy this, read this, do this and this beautiful, tastefully arranged life can be yours.

Like all self help books, reading the book is enough isn't it? You don't really have to do the work.

Moral Panic

In his blog, "Slacktivist", Fred Clark wrote about the phenomena of moral panics in society. He cited the Salem Witch Trials as an example, a case where the "morality" or the fear that evil was threatening society was so strong a panic ensued and 14 women, 5 men and 2 dogs were put to death.

Mr. Clark feels a better phrase would be moral hysteria. Panic is an involuntary response while hysteria grows when certain choices are made. Those choices include accepting assertions as solid evidence without allowing oneself to look at any evidence to the contrary, the decision to embrace and perpetuate at least the emotional drama and most likely the verbal/written drama.

Regardless of which term we use, moral panic or moral hysteria, as we become a nation, really a world, with more and more access to information, to research-backed data, to facts, we have become no less susceptible to this. The fear is perpetuated by politicians, religious leaders, the NRA, some of the more sensational media sources, and any group that aims to marginalize others.

Currently, the victims of the this type of thinking are Syrian refugees, Muslims, illegal immigrants and even sex abusers. We've taken a little bit of fear and let it overwhelm our responsibility to look at the facts, blinded ourselves to evidence from all sides of each issue and let our desire to protect our loved ones see enemies in the unknown. We're encouraged to do this by well meaning people and by people who have a warped sense of right and wrong. Whatever the reason it lessens us individually and as a society.

Mr. Clark is a much clearer thinker and better writer and his blog can be found on the Patheos.com site under Slacktivist.

Fixing Up

Mr. Wonderful and I have a convenient capacity to live in, not quite ignorance, but a certain willful blindness, to the slow inevitable deterioration of our home. We've been known to not change dead light bulbs for weeks, let broken furniture stay broken if it holds our weight, and walk around the pail catching the leak in the ceiling for too long. We are not the kind of people who spend the weekend rearranging the shrubbery or reroofing the house or building decks or adding bathrooms. Occasionally we'll rouse ourselves and start talking about what needs to be done but then we decide to go out to eat and get home too late to start so there it sits.

BUT, another child is graduating and the pre-party fix up is in progress. The yard and "garden" got an overhaul, a new kitchen floor, some painting, carpets cleaned, light bulbs replaced--we're going all out.

The problem is that this is our last child so once this is done, what will ever get us to get stuff done again. Some of you are probably saying helpful things like just make a list and do one or two things a week but I know how we operate here. We'll look at the list and agree and go to the hardware store to get the supplies and then decide that as long as we're out and about we might as well get a bite to eat and then by the time we get home it will be too late to start....

Envy

I am almost 54 years old and sometimes I feel like a two and half year old saying, "I want, I want, its mine, I want it." When will I grow out of it, when will I mature, when will I be content, when will I learn?

The things I want aren't necessary and sometimes aren't even objects. I want decent affordable portable medical insurance so I'm not tied to my current job. I want a great backyard patio without mosquitos or overuse of chemicals, I want a canoe, I want more books, I want more time to read books, I want more people with whom to talk about books,I want new bedding, I want a new refrigerator with an ice-maker, I want to be debt free, I want, I want, I want.....

And then I start seeing what other people have and I want even more. This person's house is always clean and organized, this person has the library of my dreams, this person has a houseboat, this person got a huge bonus at work, this person has travelled so much more than me.. I want, I want, I want......

Aristotle says, "Envy is pain at the good fortune of others."

In the book, The Geography of Bliss, the writer, Joseph Epstein, is quoted from his writing on envy as saying, "Once unleashed, envy tends to diminish all in whom it takes possession."

And the Bible, in Proverbs 14:30, "A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh but envy makes the bones rot."

Strong words.

Envy. It is a beast that lurks within and must be guarded against. I know better. I have no excuse.

The Seven Year Old List

In 2007 I made a list of things to get done around the house--our current house. In its entirety, the list had six items on it, as follows:

1. fix stucco
2. fix brick in front
3. paint foyer
4. clean carpets and rugs
5. remove mildew and paint basement
6. clean attic

Six years later, I have crossed off one item, number four. We have paid someone else to clean the carpets and rugs (a few times). Either this is a list of herculean proportions that no one in their right mind could finish in six years or I am the laziest home owner in Red Wing.

I've met people that accomplish this much stuff in a weekend and still do laundry and cook their own food. You might be tempted to think that I've accomplished other things that have put me off the above list--perhaps another more global list:

1. achieve inner peace
2. achieve world peace

But, clearly, I haven't done that either.

So what have I been doing these past six years? Well, in my defense, I think a person shouldn't hurry up their laundry and their cooking all in one weekend--life is too short, spread it out over two weekends, heck, take a month. Then there's the kitchen clean up, the reading of the paper, putting gas in the car and work. All in all, the time has flown. Oh yeah, and throw in a heck of a lot of good times with family and friends, so many good books and music and a bit of dancing and traveling.

The house is still standing and who knows, we'll probably knock another thing off the list in the next six years

this country and praying, hmmm?

One morning, at our Bible Study group--we are five women who've been getting together at some un-godly time of the morning for more than fifteen years--when talking about prayer requests, someone said, "Pray for our country." And it struck me that I didn't know what that meant, what were we praying for.

The five women in this particular group had different political views and we were coming up to an election--so were we going to be praying for a Republican view or a Democrat's view, in effect canceling out each others prayers like we would each others votes. Were we praying that the United States would be richer than, stronger than, mightier than, smarter than other countries.

Were we praying that our country would believe as we did- middle class, middle aged, midwestern women who believed fairly simply but strongly in the overwhelmingly predominant faith of our families and communities.

Are we reminding ourselves to pray that God's will be done? How do we know it's not being done now, how will we know what it is when it is done--how is my discernment of God's will better than your discernment?

Sometimes the simplest of things can just set me going for quite a while.

I don't know what to pray for...for our country. And while I've spent probably far too much time thinking about this, I keep thinking about the Bible verse that says

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." Romans 8:26