Letter to Edvard on his graduation

Dear Edvard,

Mom and I are excited to see you graduate from high school and head to college. We think you're ready and we're very proud of you. We remember the day you were born, kicking and crying and ready to take on the world. You were and are a beautiful son.

Psalm 127 says that children are a reward to parents, like arrows in the hand of a warrior. And an arrow is something you point in the right direction, then let it fly. So here are some things we'd like to say to you as we release the bow string.

In the 18 years you've been in our house, we've observed what kind of person you are. You're a fun-loving person. You make friends easily and know how to have a good time.

You're a diligent worker. After getting through the normal amount of procrastination, you can buckle down and get the work done, at school, at work, or wherever it's needed. And you do this with very little complaining.

You've been given a sharp mind. You're able to understand new things quickly and aren't scared of the abstract or the mathematical. You're an adventurous person, traveling to Bemidji to study Russian, learning to play golf when no one in your family knew a thing about it, and picking up the bass guitar and just figuring it out.

Finally, mom and I know that you're a trustworthy person. We've asked you to take on responsibilities at home, even when we're on the other side of the country, and you make it all happen.

All of these qualities are blessings that God has given you, and they will be assets as you move on to your next stage of life.

We also wanted to give you a few words from the Bible's wisdom literature for the road ahead.

First, Proverbs 13:20 says "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." We all end up imitating the people we're around, and at Grove City College you have a great opportunity to choose who you're going to hang out with. Be a friendly person, try lots of things, make lots of new friends, but also be discerning about who you become close with. Look for people who love the Lord, who pursue wisdom, and they will help you become a wise person yourself.

Second, Proverbs 12:24 days, "The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor." If you learn to work hard at your studies, whether it's Computer Science or another discipline that captures your interest, it opens up a world of possibilities. The world is hungry for capable, diligent people and they get to lead the way. But if you take it easy, just hanging out, what the Bible calls "sloth", you end up getting forced into dead-end situations. Now is the time to grow your capacity.

And finally, Ecclesiastes 12:1 says "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth." Your mom and I have shown you what it means to follow Christ. You know how God's Word is guidance for us and God's people are an encouragement to us. But now it remains for you to choose to continue in your faith and grow into a mature man of God. You have a lot of things before you, but you will do well to remember where you've come from.

We love you very much, Eddie, and we are praying for God's blessing and guidance in your life. We are so grateful that God gave you to us as our son.

Love, Mom and Dad

John Adams by David McCullough

John Adams was a leading advocate and signer of the Declaration of Independence, the author of the Massachusetts Constitution which is the world's oldest functioning written constitution, the first Vice President of the United States and the second President of the United States. I had McCullough's biography on my "to read" list for a long time, but a couple trips to Boston this spring convinced me that now was the time. Here are a few highlights for me.

Adams was a reader. He loved literature and learning, not politics and business. His Harvard education got him started, but it was the life-long practice of reading great literature that brought the depth and delight. And he read in Greek, Latin and French, putting us all to shame.

Adams was hard working and principled. His effort and integrity in his law practice prepared him to serve at the first and second Continental Congresses, then as an emissary to France, Holland and England during the Revolutionary War. His love of farming, combined with copious letter writing, allowed him to remain productive and content for decades after his political career was over.

Adams was immensely blessed by his wife Abigail. She was his secret weapon of wisdom, of sanity, of frugality, of humanity. How he ever lived apart from her for multiple years while in Europe is a mystery to me, but his heart was always drawn to her. She was a Proverbs 31 woman and he reaped the benefit.

Adams was feisty yet forgiving. He clashed with Benjamin Franklin in Paris and Thomas Jefferson back in the States, but rose above the animosity to get essential work done. His reconciliation with Jefferson in their later years is a beautiful story of two very different men treasuring their unique partnership in the founding of our country.

Adams was a Christian man. His faith in God helped him see the evils of slavery, the sure foundation of the rights of man, and the foolishness of the secular French mob. The Word of God, especially the Psalms, gave him delight as his body declined.

Adams was a true patriot. He avoided the bitter politics that broke out quickly after our nation's founding and has continued unabated to this day. He may have been a bit naïve, but he was not selfish. He loved his country and the principles of liberty that been birthed in his lifetime.

The biography of John Adams makes me proud to be an American.

Personal Transformation in Narnia

The Chronicles of Narnia are stories of adventure, danger, evil witches and the good Lion. Yet in each volume, there are sub-plots with lesser characters being transformed from selfishness to newfound virtue. Here is a collection of one from each book.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Edmund is cruel to his sister Lucy and selfishly aligns himself with the White Witch. In chapter 11, Aslan has come to Narnia and the Witch's magic is losing its hold. Eternal winter is giving way to spring. She sees a party of talking animals enjoying a meal given by Father Christmas and in anger she threatens to turn them to stone. Edmund protests, but the Witch does it anyway. "And Edmund for the first time in this story felt sorry for someone besides himself." Later, in chapter 17, Edmund is the hero of the battle, having the foresight to attack the Witch's wand and not the Witch herself.

Prince Caspian

In chapter 5 Caspian first meets the talking animals and creatures of old Narnia. Trufflehunter the badger affirms his belief in the ancient tales of the High King Peter, his reign at Cair Paravel, and the lion Aslan. Trumpkin the dwarf responds, "But who believes in Aslan nowadays?" When Aslan appears in chapter 11, he pounces on Trumpkin. "The Lion gave him one shake and all his armor rattled like a tinker's pack and then - hey-presto - the Dwarf flew up in the air. He was as safe as if he had been in bed, though he did not feel so." After offering that proof, Aslan asks, "Son of Earth, shall we be friends?". In chapter 12, when Peter, Edmund and Trumpkin rush in to help Caspian defeat Nikabrik, the hag and the werewolf, it is Trumpkin who makes the introduction to Caspian, "It's the High King, the High King Peter."

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

As the ship sails away from Narnia, Eustace Scrubb is the spoiled brat of the crew. Landing on an unknown island in chapter 5, he selfishly leaves the crew on his own adventure, gets lost and discovers a dying dragon and his treasure. What seemed like a gain turns into a horrible transformation. "He had turned into a dragon while he was asleep. Sleeping on a dragon's hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself." Now miserable and alone, Eustace makes his way back to the ship in dragon form. In chapter 7, after they recognize that the dragon is Eustace, a more important observation is made. "It was, however, clear to everyone that Eustace's character had been rather improved by becoming a dragon. He was anxious to help...The pleasure (quite new to him) of being liked and, still more, of liking other people, was what kept Eustace from despair."

The Silver Chair

On their journey to the underworld, Puddleglum the marshwiggle always sees the worst side of things. He is captive to an absurd pessimism. However, when confronting the witch who has enchanted Prince Rilian in chapter 12, Puddleglum is the only one who's mind is able to withstand her magic because of the pain of his burnt hand. "The pain itself made Puddleglum's head for a moment perfectly clear and he knew exactly what he really thought...'Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones...That's why I'm going to stand by the play-world.'"

The Horse and His Boy

Shasta and Aravis flee Calormen on their horses, Bree and Hwin, with an urgent message for King Lune of Archenland. In chapter 10, on the last leg of their journey, they are chased by a lion who mauls Aravis's back. Not knowing it is Aslan hastening them on, Shasta turns back to rescue Aravis. This act awakens Aravis to see her mistaken disregard for him. "Shasta was marvelous. I'm just as bad as you, Bree. I've been snubbing him and looking down on him ever since you met us and now he turns out to be the best of us all." At the end of the story, when Shasta's true identity is revealed, Aravis says, "I'm sorry I've been such a pig. But I did change before I knew you were a Prince, honestly I did: when you went back, and faced the Lion."

The Magician's Nephew

In chapter 4, Digory and Polly journey to a new world and discover a room of statues. In the center of the room is hammer and bell with a warning that striking it would bring danger. Polly wants to leave it alone, but Digory selfishly invites the danger and strikes it. This awakens the evil witch Jadis who will someday enslave Narnia. After being reproved by Aslan, in chapter 13 Digory is confronted by the same witch who tempts him to disobey Aslan and take the life-giving apple back to his mother. He is almost enticed, but the witch also suggests that he should abandon Polly "and the meanness of the suggestion that he should leave Polly suddenly made all the other things the Witch had been saying to him sound false and hollow. And even in the midst of all his misery, his head suddenly cleared."

The Last Battle

The final book in the series is all transformation. All Narnia is transformed, along with the Peter, Edmund, Lucy, Eustace, Jill, Digory and Polly (excepting Susan), Tirian the last king of Narnia, Emeth the Calormene, and all the characters we love back to Tumnus the faun. However, Lewis singles out Puzzle the donkey for a special encounter with Aslan. In Chapter 1 Puzzle is weak and gullible, led astray by Shift the ape. After everyone goes through the door to the real Narnia, in chapter 15 Puzzle is the last to make his appearance. "He was himself now: a beautiful donkey", yet ashamed for having dressed up in the lion-skin. He worries "But what I'll do if I really have to meet Aslan, I'm sure I don't know." On the final page of the book, when Aslan makes his appearance, the first person he calls is Puzzle. We aren't told what is said, and Puzzle's first response is shame but then "the ears perked up again." Whatever was said, Aslan welcomes him with grace and encouragement as everyone enters the new and eternal Narnia they were always hoping for.

I'm getting vaccinated today!

I'm getting vaccinated today, but I don't want to. My company now requires it, and I can't visit my daughter studying abroad in Italy without it (unless we only meet in the Tuscan countryside.) So what choice do I have? I could quit the job and cancel the trip, or I can just get the shot and write this blog post.

I'd prefer to acquire natural immunity. For someone of my age and health condition, I think that's better for my long term health and for the health of those around me. But that choice is being made difficult. Sure, the vaccine has been proven to be reasonably safe in the short term, but the virus has also proven to be not very deadly for people like me. I've been shamed and blamed for 17 months for not caring about the immunocompromised enough, for not trusting the CDC fully, for not respecting Newsom's stay-at-home order, for not believing my mask protects fellow shoppers at the grocery store. The media relentlessly advocates for the vaccine, promoting the story of every white conservative virus-denying male who recanted on his covid deathbed (with underlying conditions noted below). I'm not smart enough to know exactly what cultural change is going on, but I know my skin has thickened.

For all this, I'm barely suffering. I still have a job. No one I know personally has died from covid, for which I'm grateful. And the vaccine will almost certainly do no harm. It also won't do me much good. My status as a possible asymptomatic spreader does not change. My chances of dying from covid don't change much. And my long term concerns aren't significant because I don't have much long term left.

But I can't say the same for my children. Their opportunities for school and work have been severely impacted. They have little upside to getting the vaccine, and no assemblage of the world's greatest scientists can assure them that there is no long term downside to this new medical technology. And they are inheriting a world that cannot easily let go of this massive fear of infection and distrust of germ-spreading neighbors.

That said, America is still the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave. So I freely offer my arm and hope to bravely wait for what comes next.

Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

Sinclair Lewis was born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, a few miles from where my mother grew up in Osakis. After being educated on the East Coast at Oberlin and Yale, he moved to Washington D.C. and wrote this best seller in 1920 about life in rural Minnesota. I was motivated to read the book while contemplating my own move back to Minnesota and how I should set my expectations.

The protagonist, Carol Milford, is a sophisticated, beautiful Minneapolis girl who marries a medical doctor, Will Kennicott, and moves to Gopher Prairie, a fictional Sauk Centre, with ambitions of transforming its architecture and culture. She hits barrier after barrier, never making progress on her grand project. She attempts entertaining, theater, social clubs, even designing a house with her husband, but none of her efforts ever take hold. No one else shares her values.

Carol meets Guy Pollock, who is well read, agnostic, but is also admittedly given over to the "village virus" (ch 13), which is his term for a life of resignation in the simplicity of a small town. Carol is attracted to him, even considering if having an affair with Guy would be possible, but she resolves on being faithful to Will because she is still fond of her husband. But signs of weakness in their marriage are clear.

She finds some solace in having a son, Hugh (ch 20), but refuses to resign herself to the simple quiet life of a country wife and mother.

She meets Percy Bresnahan (ch 23), the local boy who made it big manufacturing cars out east. In comparison to his sparkling conversation and sharp dressing, Will is boring and shabby. But Percy leaves and Carol keeps trying to be a good wife.

She finds friendship with a simple Swedish handyman Miles Bjornstam who marries her maid Bea, starts a farm, and has a baby. But his wife and child die with a sickness for which he is to blame, and so he ends up leaving the town in disgrace. Carol finds no lasting happiness in friendship.

But everything comes to a head when Carol meets Erik Volberg, a country boy who is an avid reader with grand ambitions as a big city fashion designer, but lacks any experience or serious education. She takes walks with him and enjoys conversation, dabbling with romantic interest. In Chapter 31, Erik aggressively declares his desire for her, alone in her bedroom, but she rejects him. He wants a lover, she wants an aspirational friend, so they part ways. The chapter ends with an ominous, "The next day, the storm crashed." 

The storm of chapter 32 is the disgrace and banishment of her friend Fern Mullins. When the high school teacher Fern is accused of getting drunk and possibly fooling around with her student Cy Bogart, the vicious, self-righteous, condemning nature of Gopher Prairie is exposed. Will and others realize Cy is hardly innocent, but they feel no compulsion to save Fern. Cy's mother is blind to her son's mischievous nature, but Carol believes strongly that society is at fault. She says, "The job of corrupting Cy was done by your sinless town, five years ago!" And this fault is ultimately theological. She tells Fern, "My dear, Mrs. Bogart's god may be - Main's Street's god. But all the courageous intelligent people are fighting him...though he slay us."

In chapter 33, Carol meets up with Erik for a long walk, only to be discovered by Will. He seems calm at first, but in private Will is outraged. But his outrage is not that she that she loves another man, but that Carol will be exposed to the wrath of the town. He says, "You better cut it out now. I'm not going to do the outraged husband stunt. I like you and I respect you, and I'd probably look like a boob if I tried to be dramatic. But I think it's about time for you and Valborg to call a halt before you get in Dutch, like Fern Mullins did." His concern is social, not personal. Then they argue about Will's actual medical accomplishments compared to Erik's potential cultural accomplishments. Will handily wins the logical argument and Carol is shut down. But they still care for each other, so they decide to go away on a 3 month California vacation, leaving their son Hugh with Aunt Bessie. This seems to be a good thing, but they return to a sleet storm, lonely streets, and no one being terribly interested in their adventures. Happiness will not be found in travel.

The final blow in chapter 35 is the arrival of Mr. James. Blausser, a land speculator, leads a campaign to promote Gopher Prairie as the best city in the world. He wants to draw more business to the town, thereby increasing his property values. It's a classic "fake it till you make it" scheme, and no one seems to be bothered by it. Carol has been sincerely trying to make Gopher Prairie a bit more like Minneapolis or Paris, but Mr. Blausser swoops in and declares that it already is! Carol is disgusted.

Carol is now devastated and wants to leave Gopher Prairie. She gets Will's permission to move to the east coast indefinitely, under the pretense of joining the war effort. She finds office work in D.C. for two years. Will comes out and tries to woo her. In chapter 38 he makes one of the more touching speeches in the book. "Look here, Carrie; you think I'm going to ask you to love me. I'm not. And I'm not going to ask you to come back to Gopher Prairie!...I just want you to know how I wait for you. Every mail I look for a letter, and when I get one I'm kind of scared to open it, I'm hoping so much that you're coming back." He communicates genuine care and humility. 

But then he comes to his most serious matter saying, "'Nother thing. I'm going to be frank. I haven't always been absolutely, uh absolutely, proper." And then he begins to confess his affair with a neighbor woman, Maud Dyer. This is the point of repentance, where real reconciliation and healing is possible. But Carol cuts him off and says, "It's all right. Let's forget it." We can be sympathetic to Carol's hurt, but here was her best chance at finding love. But her lack of anger or even feeling over her husband's unfaithfulness is proportional to her lack of care over her husband. Sadly, Carol does not believe her happiness will be found in marriage.

The book quickly draws to an end with Carol finding a muted happiness in the social and political aspirations of her son and newborn daughter (ch 39). She says, "Think what that baby will see and meddle with before she dies in the year 2000! She may see an industrial union of the whole world, she may see aeroplanes going to Mars." She has given up on herself, her friendships, her personal ambitions, and her marriage, but has not given up on her ideals. Her final word in the book is, "But I have won in this: I've never excused my failures by sneering at my aspirations, by pretending to have gone beyond them. I do not admit that Main Street is as beautiful as it should be! I do not admit that Gopher Prairie is greater or more generous than Europe! I do not admit that dish-washing is enough to satisfy all women! I may not have fought the good fight, but I have kept the faith." Her hope is being part of some transcendent cause to which she has been faithful. She doesn't have to see much of any result in her life and in her town, as long as she's a part of some ideal of Progress.

After giving this final thought, her husband responds with a total lack of understanding and sympathy. He doesn't have a clue about what she just said, and he doesn't care. And she seems to not care either.

I enjoyed the book because Lewis is a talented writer, the characters are engaging, the descriptions of humanity's messed up condition are vivid, and the Minnesota setting is special to me. But Sinclair Lewis's worldview is empty. He tries to find significance in societal struggle and cultural accomplishments, but misses the primacy of love. Carol could have gone to small town Minnesota and learned to love people - her husband, her simple and sinful neighbors, her work, and her place. She had many opportunities to pursue love instead of accomplishments. But both she and it seems Lewis himself don't see the centrality of love. Jesus taught us that our greatest obligation and our greatest joy is to love God with all our heart, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. And he taught us what love is, to lay down our lives for our friends. This may seem like stodgy tradition and old fashioned religion, but I think the book, as excellent as it was, only showed how right our Lord was.

The Divine Comedy by Dante

A "review" of a monumental classic like Dante's Divine Comedy may be an exercise in hubris that lands me in a "bolgia" of the Inferno. After finishing all three volumes, Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise), I feel compelled to respond in writing to complete my enjoyment, but realize I have nothing profound to say. Here are some observations, humbly offered.

The Divine Comedy is epic because it offers a complete worldview, capturing the totality of heaven and earth from the Medieval perspective in a personal story. Dante integrates the Biblical and classical worlds by including Abraham and Aristotle, the Blessed Virgin and the gifted Virgil in their proper places. The virtuous pagans are consigned to limbo, yet their philosophy and mythology and proto-science reach up to heavenly realms. It is a fusion of two streams of civilization, the Greek and the Christian, with unambiguous priority given to the latter. Contemporary Christians do the same as we explain and integrate Freudian psychology, Marxist theory, secular science and rock music by a Biblical standard. We expend immense effort trying to preserve the good and reject the bad. History will judge if we fare better.

The Divine Comedy is moral because it provides Dante a vehicle to critique his society and contemplate a righteous life. The rebuke of popes and emperors is scathing. Those who suffer in the Inferno are punished by being given over to the evil they pursued in life. We should tremble at final justice. Dante subscribes to the Roman Catholic doctrine of Purgatory, but Protestants can understood it as a metaphor for sanctification in this life, a hopeful battle against sin by joyfully accepting its temporary consequences because, unlike the Inferno, God works it for our good. This optimistic moral vision extends beyond the personal, foreseeing revival in the Church and the rise of good government. Evil fails and good succeeds, both in our personal lives and in society.

The Divine Comedy is transcendent because it captures the human desire for complete happiness and full understanding. It ends with Dante seeing the turning of planets driven by the love of God, an ultimate satisfaction made possible in the presence of God, and a wondrous gaze into the Triune essence of God. We are created for such things and should not settle for the small and the selfish. If it awakens an inner whisper "What if this could be true?" then Dante has successfully reached across the ages. But if we dismiss this as Medieval superstition and religious ignorance, then we are left with our convenient but barren world, where our technology allows us to click on the latest Netflix Original but won't bring us the satisfaction and insight that Dante believes is possible.

Never Trump

Although a political conservative and consistent Republican voter, I have not voted for Trump and, after watching the first Presidential Debate of 2020, have decided to not vote for Trump. Add my name to the "Never Trump" column, not as an ideological commitment, but simply as a fact. I will have never voted for him. This is why.

First, abortion. The Culture War will be won with character not politics. Overturning Roe does not end the bloodshed. Its repeal allows South Dakota and Mississippi to outlaw abortion, but allows, even encourages, California and New York to continue. The actual number of abortions may not decrease and the cost of victory would be endorsing a man who exemplifies the Sexual Revolution's degradation of women and marriage. Who can calculate the unintended consequences? And it's not obvious that these originalist, textualist justices will actually overturn Roe, with its decades of stare decisis. The true precedent for overturning abortion is the Early Church ending infanticide and the exposure of infants in the Roman Empire through its own moral lives and theological convictions. Ending abortion and repealing the Sexual Revolution requires a change of heart, which is not compatible with an ends-justify-the-means rationale.

Second, the Constitution. Trump shows a lack of conviction about his oath to "protect and defend the Constitution". Like Obama, stretching back to Woodrow Wilson, Trump shares the imperial view of the Presidency. He feels entitled to "get things done" by executive order if Congress doesn't "act". It's true that he hasn't done that much, for which I'm grateful, but he would if he could. And that paves the way for a future President who actually has ability. We need a President who humbly serves the country by executing his or her office as laid out in the Constitution.

Third, Black Lives Matter. All Americans should care about the hopelessness and violence in our inner cities. The progressives are fanning Marxist flames and peddling the false hope of revolution. They are not helping. But Trump's partial, sometimes indirect, endorsements of white nationalist groups is too frequent to be accidental. You can't be the law and order candidate and play with verbal matches next to that gasoline. We need a President who believes in liberty and justice for all, who champions equality under the law, and who "takes Care that Laws be faithfully executed" in our land.

Fourth, conscience. If I vote third party, or write-in, or decline to vote, I am not implicitly voting for Biden. I reject the binary choice. I may never have the decisive vote on any matter, but a lifetime of voting my conscience makes a difference. There is a time for transactional thinking, picking the lesser of two evils, but this is not it. Our democracy will survive Trump or Biden. It survived Obama and would have survived Hillary. Our ideals are stronger than either major candidate in 2020, so it's best to follow my conscience and be Never Trump.