All Are Welcome, Really

One article headline caught my attention several months ago in the Christian Science Monitor: "Church revival? More liberals are filling Protestant pews". It was a jarring headline because it countered what everyone knew: Mainline Protestant Churches like the Episcopal and the Presbyterians were once associated with the Protestant Work Ethic, the Republican Party at Prayer, and the WASP establishment. After the 1970's, those churches took a leftward turn in theology and outreach, religious non-affiliation increased, and church membership declined.

Coincidentally, church-goers were returning to tradition: Jews turning to orthodoxy, Evangelicals embracing sacraments, and Catholics saying old prayers. Church attendance has become correlated with conservative views, a Pew Research poll will tell you. This may be a result of decades of culture wars, with Evangelicalism as the loudspeaker and Catholicism as the library; the pastoral aspects of Christian life, though always present, falling to the background. Talk Radio and ballot boxes made being a "good" Christian easy; Pope Francis made a few Catholics uncomfortable when he reminded us about the importance of charitable work. It was not specifically a call to increase the 2.5% quarter-tithe American citizens give to charity, on average; but a call to open one's heart, showing a bit more compassion in the ruthless world.

So what is the appeal of a progressive, liberal church to the "Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving"(1)  demographic? You may have heard of the "Third Place" idea; a place you spend time away from home and work. Starbucks wants you to make their stores your "Third Place" and many people do.
But people need a sense of community in addition to a sense of belonging in a "Third Place", and this community is what draws some people to those churches that hang rainbow flags and "Black Lives Matter" signs.

While traditional churches tended to focus on spiritual matters over earthly ones; progressive churches talk to issues that matter to progressives. With the new administration in the White House, some fear a return to the politically alienating days of corporate welfare and moral Pharisees. There is a bit of racial strife, and this year there are geopolitical crises that force people out of effete complacency. North Korea's nuclear missile program. Human rights violations in Syria.
Inclement weather from fires in the Western States to hurricane flooding in the tax havens of Texas and Florida. The need for a feeling of togetherness in these times might compel some progressives to take their Sunday morning coffee in the parish hall instead of Starbucks.


(1) Credits to Geoffrey Nunberg

How to Remember Robert E. Lee

In the space of several weeks, New Orleans removed four monuments, even demolishing at least one. Such a sweeping action spearheaded by Mayor Mitch Landrieu, with consent of the City Council, generated less debate on the national scale than I expected. I was very surprised that the city had the authority to remove landmarks, as I thought that they would be protected by state, even federal law. The federal courts declined to interfere with this “local matter”, and the monuments were removed in the dark of night with less legal battle than removing an old tree. 

These monuments happened to commemorate Confederate leaders and events; and were erected during the heyday of Civil War veterans.  They were the South’s response to Grand Army Plaza and General Sherman statues.  In Norfolk, Virginia there is a Confederate memorial erected in 1951. At first glance I thought it was a bad symbol of massive resistance to civil rights, but upon closer reading I discovered that the memorial commemorated the last meeting of centenarian veterans. In some parts of the country and in some communities, the thought of Confederate statues generates revulsion. But living on the border of Virginia, I grew up around intentional and subtle memorials to the Confederacy, such as the Civil War battlefields, replete with reenactments, curio stores, Robert E Lee’s house on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery, Lee-Jackson Day, and roads with high rise buildings named after Confederate generals. Recently, the Washington National Cathedral, part of the Episcopal Church, decided to alter a stained glass window that portrayed a small Confederate flag. That is their right, but it sparked debate in preservation-conscious Washington. Virginia has taken a keen interest in ensuring that the historic city of Alexandria, bordering Washington, keeps its memorials. It makes for unsavory news headlines in the age of clickbait. Around a city full of statues and monuments to controversial figures; several statues to the Confederacy is just ‘is’.  

Among the four demolished monuments was a wholly inappropriate memorial to the Battle of Liberty Place extolling the virtues of lawlessness. It was a low key-memorial and the first to be removed. As the Associated Press writes, it commemorates “A rebellion in 1874 by whites against a biracial Reconstruction-era government in New Orleans. An inscription extolling white supremacy was added in 1932”. This statue was devoted to racism; and had no redeeming artistic value, it was rightly demolished. The others commemorate Confederate leaders, which some find to symbolize racism. 

I looked at pictures of the condemned memorials in New Orleans. Several were grimy and looked to be neglected.  That was how Pennsylvania Station looked in 1963 when the “obsolete” Pennsylvania Station of 1908 was razed, to the horror of historians, the art community, and the educated public.  The airy atrium and iconic building, everything above street level, was replaced with the Madison Square Garden stadium and an office building, maximizing use of what was seen at the time as wasted real estate. What existed below street level, the utilitarian train tracks and platforms, was preserved. A small concession was made to preservationists, and the iconic eagles, which used to be on the train station’s facades, landed at college campuses and public places around New York City.

The fact that Pennsylvania Station was demolished proved to be a turning point on how our nation treated old but iconic buildings. It was a turning point , not a clean break, as we see in our churches.  Parishioners, many struggling immigrants from the Old World, put their pennies together to build great churches in our cities. Some churches have been sold or demolished, usually after a period of postponed maintenance, due to insufficient funds.  Other times, there was “wreckovation” that came with the “Spirit of Vatican 2”: While many parishes were able to accommodate the new mass without alterations; other church leaders jumped on a bandwagon and planned renovation  using  the vague motive of symbolism about moving forward in a new direction.  Similar attitudes prevailed in other denomiations as well. 

Then the Tridentine Mass returned after 20 years’ absence.  This is the old mass which the old Catholic parishes were built for. There is nothing more beautiful than the combination of ritual and place, the old mass being celebrated at the old altar, as it has been for a century or more, skipping one generation. In many neighborhoods with old parishes, gentrification is in full swing. The flavor of life of ethnic communities is being replaced by generic residents and bland chain outlets. In light of this, churches, statues and monuments create a sense of place; as they have been for the past centuries. 

What is a Washingtonian to judge how New Orleans wants to forget the unpleasant past? Folks visit New Orleans for the cultural difference, where preserving the past has less importance than enjoying the present. The people of New Orleans make the French Quarter what it is; the buildings are decoration.  Let the good times roll in the Big Easy.

Pioneers, Oh Pioneers

When I think of patriotism, I conjure up memories of Reagan-era glories such as Rambo, the Battleships Iowa and New Jersey, tractors, Top Gun and Full Metal Jacket. I also think of hot dogs and the traditional family, with an overweight Dad with a suntanned neck. 

I do not forget the real patriots:  the daughters of pilgrims, the sons of Ellis Island, and the brides of World War Two. There is no more American story than one’s ancestors looking for religious freedom in the 1700’s; or arriving on the streets of New York in the 1890’s, penniless but ambitious and willing to work hard; nor the brides of Europe arriving home with ordinary soldiers who defeated the Axis in 1945.  This is a beautiful story, encompassing the narrative of (Caucasian) America.  In remembrance of our ancestors who embodied masculinity and the risk-taking of new ideas, it is due patriotism to “use government policy to incentivize work” (a.k.a., cut welfare), in conjunction with “letting the bull loose”, to recreate the Gilded Age that created the American Dream in the minds of our great-grandfathers. 

As I walked with my family in Washington, DC to the Fireworks on the National Mall on the Fourth of July, I saw many young Americans sporting attire boasting of American pride. Seeing the first several groups, I suspected that they were southern frat boys and sorority girls: Washington, DC is still the gateway to the South, where country music plays at large gatherings that include suburbanites, and talk of “open season” is not just a figure of speech. But it became clear to me that these Chubbie shorts-wearing, boat-shoe sporting, patriotic tank-top bearing, Oakley-popping peers represented a greater demographic than I had imagined.   

Here is some background: Facebook counted 26 million profiles bearing rainbow flags- enough, upon rough estimate, to represent one in seven Facebook profiles in the US. In addition to those “out and proud” about their sentiment on gay marriage, there must be many quiet allies who choose to appear neutral on the issue. I had reason to believe that a number of those young people I saw dressed like “Born in the USA” patriots…must support gay marriage. 

Smart and wonky conservatives sense something in the air. Editorialists and targeted papers, such as the Washington Examiner, have been poking holes in the presumption that the liberal consensus among young people is permanent. They have pointed to cases where young people have been more enthusiastic than their older counterparts in supporting Republican newcomers like Ed Gillespie and Ken Cuccinelli in Virginia, or Republican Patrick Mara’s base of support in DC’s shoebox-condo neighborhoods. (Perchance, Gillespie and Mara are moderate and liberal, respectively, on bedroom issues). With young voters, Republican luminaries accept that no news is good news: many young people are apathetic about politics or are registered Independent- an opportunity for party growth. They look at young people and their love for disruptive technology like Apple’s I-Phones or Uber, and their impatience with government interventions like liquor license moratoria. Furthermore, they don’t like being un-employed or under-employed, and have an aversion from joining unions (Chicken or Egg?), instead, preferring to “compete on the open marketplace under a new relationship with their employer, where individual initiative is rewarded”. That phrase- originally a talking point in the Washington Examiner- slipped into my subconscious and got me in trouble with a relative last Thanksgiving. To these editorialists, the app-using, uber-riding, condo-living, “millennial” young people; who are mostly pro-gay marriage, but delightfully queasy on abortion and undecided on immigration; are patriots who are looking for direction from the fatherly hand of the Grand Old Party, with reasonable accommodation for their support of gay marriage. 

Neither is every Chubbie-wearing bro a member of the College Republicans. (They are the group whose 2013 report shocked the Party leadership’s assumptions about young adults).  You can be patriotic, and staunchly liberal. The thirty-something financial analyst who licks his chops about putting a true conservative on the Supreme Court to reverse a punch-list of 5-4 decisions, has no higher moral ground than the twenty-something arts major bemoaning the democratically elected Republican leadership of Capitol Hill. Better, ask this question: do your liberal friends love to participate in flag burnings? No.  John F. Kennedy, a so-called Cold War Liberal, had this to say in his Profiles in Courage:

“If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people-their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties-someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal", then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal.”

Kennedy may have identified himself as a liberal for that era; yet it is hard to deny him his status as a true American patriot. Despite the media narrative, it’s important to remember that we are not divided as ‘red states’ and ‘blue states’; but the shared experiences of rural, suburban , or urban life, with regional variations, unites communities across state lines and the two great continental mountain ranges, the Appalachians and the Rockies. We are one nation under Oakleys, Chubbies, and Vineyard Vines.

The Unconquerable Crown

If you were looking for the synonym for a good time, it’s found with the exclamation: “PREAK-NESS!”. Preakness, for my classmates, started with travel plans for getting to Baltimore. Because of parking limitations, only Seniors can keep cars on campus. But enough seats were found, including some in an RV. Baltimore promised a cheaper, less stuffy night on the town; and the neighborhood bars provided opportunity for young, white working-class Baltimorean ladies to meet the collegiate, yet salty, types. Preakness occurred on Saturday. In high school, some of the “cool” kids went to Preakness. What it was to them was beach week- without the local NIMBY (not in my backyard) types looking to shut down the party. Saturday was the race day. It was a day for casual button-down attire (unbuttoned shirts skirted the shirt-and-shoes requirement). Among the festivities, California Chrome won the second race of the Triple Crown at 6:10 betting odds. (A friend took home $160 off a $100 bet for the horse). When Belmont approached, there was pretty good hype about the dwindling sport. I’m not a horse fan, but I paid attention. And there are of course some who see horse racing as an outdated practice, where these pampered horses mask a bleak, invisible world we’d rather not see. But California Chrome, the horse with potential, was easy to make comparisons to legendary race horses of lore. I remarked about the similarity between the legendary Seabiscuit (though never a Triple Crown winner) and the horse in question, California Chrome. On the first note, neither horse was supposed to be a winner. Seabiscuit was too small. Chrome wasn’t of good pedigree. They were bought from the bargain bin. And both horses were photogenic, and both liked to sleep a lot. But, as has happened 12 times since 1978, a hyped horse, twice winner, is tripped up by the extra ¼ mile of the Belmont racetrack. Through a special military member deal with the racetrack, a number of Kings Point midshipmen were able to attend the race- rather, event- where history could be made. I was pre-scheduled with a swanky event in downtown Manhattan with the Port Engineers of New York during the start time of 6:52pm. For those at Belmont, and those watching on TV, there were several hours of hype before the marquee event. In three minutes, it was over. After California Chrome came in two horse-lengths short, it was time to move on with life. Because of the way the spur track was designed, the special racetrack train station couldn’t handle the crowd. After an hour to two of human gridlock, the MTA fixed the problem with shuttle buses to the main transfer point some 10 minutes away. Also happening in New York that night was a Rangers’ hockey playoff game. Yes, I remember, because it was standing-room only, with heavy police presence, heading back to Kings Point. That was when I found out that I hadn’t missed history. In 1978, the last year that a horse, Affirmed, won the three races (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont), Gerald Ford was President, Vermont voted Republican, and the drinking age at Belmont, in New York, was 18. While they might card for drinks today, they still turn a blind eye to some things at the race track: I have a classmate who grew up in Baltimore near the racetrack. In high school, he netted a small profit on the horses. “18 to bet on the horses? I don’t know about that”. It is of note that the Triple Crown was conquered in 1973 and 1977 as well.

The Penultimate Day

Until holiday to Canada, that is. Tomorrow might be my last day of work with the Edusmart cronies, but it's sometimes been enjoyable. Very enjoyable, considering that today, we built and launched 'model rockets'. I call them 'little missiles', considering that we blasted them in the little green space next to the church. The launch was spectacular- there was even a rocket that went into flames- apparently, those rocket engineers mistakenly used toilet paper as flame-resistant wadding. Our team's 2 rockets went pretty well. The fat, prefab one launched far into space, and only recovering the engine section after walking all the way around the block. The little one, which we did up as our CPTG rocket, was less sucessful, on account of the amount of nauseous rubber cement that we used, but was fully recovered. Awesome!

A different day

Rather a different week.
Month.
If I may say, next week will be my fourth consecutive three-day weekend. First was the CUMUNC event (almost 3 days off), then President's day, then Snow Day last Friday. This Monday, our calendar says we have the day off.
Who knows why, but we do.
Also, for the next few days we do different attire days. Again,
Tuesday= Reverse clothing
Wednesday= House Shirt (Go Main!)
Thursday= Sports Jersey
Friday= School color day

And don't forget about the St. Anselm's Tournament on Friday afternoon, as well as It's Academic on NBC 4 on Saturday Morning. Unfortunately, I had orchestra that day and couldn't make it.

Week Easiness Rating: good chance
Lots to do.