Yesterday I noted that America is fundamentally the same as it was 50 years ago, yet the national anniversary celebrations are quite different, this celebration being quite muted compared to the last. I noted that the biggest historical difference was covid and that it taught one, perhaps two, generations to wait for permission to step out and to rely on the nation to do things that were essentially their responsibility. But if individual Americans are the problem, so are they the solution.. . .
For those of us old enough to remember the nation’s 200th, the contrast between then and this 250th is truly startling. One is forced to ponder the difference. Given that we have essentially two days to observe this momentous anniversary (today is the official “day off” and tomorrow is the actual holiday) I shall commemorate the event in two posts. Today I’ll look at the down side of the contrast and tomorrow I’ll look at the upside. Also, given the unusual holiday weekend, I’ll do the usual leftover round-up today instead of tomorrow.. . .
Few questions have baffled my generation more than, “How did a devil like Hitler get power to begin with?” We are the right age to have heard all about WWII from those that lived it, but also to have witnessed the great liberalization of the Civil Rights Movement. In the end the Civil Rights Movement was about merit over race, but it sure has not ended up there. Colorado elected another antisemite in yesterday’s primaries. The Democratic slate is starting to be pretty crowded with such people. At the end of my life I am seeing a return of that which I thought had been rejected. It is depressing and frightening.. . .
We live in a consumeristic society. If you asked me what was the biggest problem the church in America faces, it is that we consume church instead of join it – we go to be entertained instead of to be improved. And many churches, needing funds, decide to supply something to be consumed instead of do what church is supposed to do. But we are also being consumed.. . .
Our world is full of fables about being convinced of untruths. The Emperor Has New Clothes tells us about how easily we can fall prey to con men and how easily groupthink can aid that process. Chicken Little tells us about how easily we can be fooled into thinking we are doing a good thing only to end up as a meal. The Boy Who Cried Wolf teaches us that uttering falsehoods too often can mean we are not heard even when we speak truth. So many classic and ancient lessons that we seem never to learn.. . .
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