AP photo

Pasted below is a Letter to the Editor of our hometown newspaper up north. 

Hi Neighbors,

We haven’t missed the northern winter, but we’re flying back early to cast a vote for Bernie Sanders in NY’s primary.  It’s such a rare opportunity to have a person of integrity on the ballot.  His rival, a member of a First Family which sold out America’s middle class by removing the Glass-Steagall Act — a protection which had long kept banks from gambling with our savings and pensions, thus setting the stage for crashing the global economy — doesn’t deserve another chance with our financial security.  The banksters who have contributed so heavily to her campaign should be denied their influence.

I hope my fellow citizens will think carefully about this.  The mistakes of the past need correction, not replay.  

As for Sanders being a “socialist” (a social democrat) we might ponder the facts of nature:  humans are one of only a very few social species on this planet, like the bees and the ants, which specialize in working together. 

Sanders has become known in the US Senate as the “Amendment King”* for his ability to work with colleagues of both parties to improve bills before passage.  Working together is socialism at its best.  And his history as mayor of Burlington VT taught the Democrat “machine politicians” who ran that city for so long that he knew how to work with the merchants of main street to restore sensible government to that city, soon putting the machine out of office.  They laughed at his socialism until he won; then they told him he wouldn’t get anything done.  But he taught them otherwise.  Yes, Bernie has the right executive skills to restore balance to our government.  And he hasn’t been bought by special interests — accepting no PAC money, just small donations from people who want America to work again.  We, the people have a voice.  We can choose a leader with integrity.

*(Update): In comparison, Hillary Clinton passed zero roll call amendments during her tenure as a senator from New York from 2001-09.

Foto: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Lest we forget, the season of doing things early in the day is soon upon us.  April and May are said to be the hottest months in Yucatan.  So here is a video reminder, with lyrics, sung by the original author:

Mad Dogs and Englishmen
(Noel Coward)

In tropical climes there are certain times of day
When all the citizens retire,
     to tear their clothes off and perspire.
It's one of those rules that the biggest fools obey,
Because the sun is much too sultry and one must avoid
     its ultry-violet ray --
Papalaka-papalaka-papalaka-boo. (Repeat)
Digariga-digariga-digariga-doo. (Repeat)
The natives grieve when the white men leave their huts,
Because they're obviously, absolutely nuts --

Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.
The Japanese don't care to, the Chinese wouldn't dare to,
Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve to one,
But Englishmen detest a siesta,
In the Philippines there are lovely screens,
     to protect you from the glare,
In the Malay states there are hats like plates,
     which the Britishers won't wear,
At twelve noon the natives swoon, and
     no further work is done -
But Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

It's such a surprise for the Eastern eyes to see,
That though the British are effete,
     they're quite impervious to heat,
When the white man rides, every native hides in glee,
Because the simple creatures hope he will
     impale his solar topee on a tree.
Bolyboly-bolyboly-bolyboly-baa. (Repeat)
Habaninny-habaninny-habaninny-haa. (Repeat)
It seems such a shame that when the English claim the earth
That they give rise to such hilarity and mirth -

Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.
The toughest Burmese bandit can never understand it.
In Rangoon the heat of noon is just what the natives shun.
They put their scotch or rye down, and lie down.
In the jungle town where the sun beats down,
     to the rage of man or beast,
The English garb of the English sahib merely gets a bit more creased.
In Bangkok, at twelve o'clock, they foam at the mouth and run,
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen, go out in the midday sun.
The smallest Malay rabbit deplores this stupid habit.
In Hong Kong, they strike a gong, and fire off a noonday gun.
To reprimand each inmate, who's in late.
In the mangrove swamps where the python romps
     there is peace from twelve till two.
Even caribous lie down and snooze, for there's nothing else to do.
In Bengal, to move at all, is seldom if ever done,
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

SOURCE: 
http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Mad_Dogs_and_Englishmen.
htm

I read the book depicted above last summer.  It was a real eye-opener.  The Slate article linked below gives a better taste than any review I could write.  Here’s the opening of the article, as an excerpt:

Link to article

Link to book

The Light of the world has never left us.

Wow, linked is a most HOPEFUL, HELPFUL, essay on our fate, titled We’re doomed. Now what?  The concluding observations are a huge gift, if we will simply unwrap them to ponder our footsteps as a species.  [Excerpt]:

The human ability to make meaning is so versatile, so powerful, that it can make almost any existence tolerable, even a life of unending suffering, so long as that life is woven into a bigger story that makes it meaningful. Humans have survived and thrived in some of the most inhospitable environments on Earth, from the deserts of Arabia to the ice fields of the Arctic, because of this ability to organize collective life around symbolic constellations of meaning: anirniit, capital, jihad. “If we have our own why in life,” Nietzsche wrote, “we shall get along with almost any how.”  [ . . . ]  

Most important, we need to give up defending and protecting our truth, our perspective, our Western values, and understand that truth is found not in one perspective but in their multiplication, not in one point of view but in the aggregate, not in opposition but in the whole. We need to learn to see not just with Western eyes but with Islamic eyes and Inuit eyes, not just with human eyes but with golden-cheeked warbler eyes, coho salmon eyes, and polar bear eyes, and not even just with eyes at all but with the wild, barely articulate being of clouds and seas and rocks and trees and stars.  [ . . . ¶ ]  We owe it to the generations whose futures we’ve burned and wasted to build a bridge, to be a bridge, to connect the diverse human traditions of meaning-making in our past to those survivors, children of the Anthropocene, who will build a new world among our ruins.

“The beginning is near!”  

Check this space for updates and details as the date draws closer. 

The power of story.                             photo by D Sharon Pruitt, wikimedia

Perhaps you’ve noticed the ad below in Merida English Library’s newsletter.  It’s an invitation to a conversation, not to a lecture. I’m hoping that you, and others, might enjoy discussing primitive stories which touch on human nature — stories that could enhance our understanding of ourselves and our interactions with each other.  Of course, there will be some god-talk, as God is a character in these stories. There is likely to be some irreverence, as we may have issues with this first-appearing character. We will need to suspend doctrinal positions, endeavoring to ask apt questions of the text. Right questions, rather than bright answers, will be our focus.  Civility will be maintained at all times.

This is an experimental project which cannot get far in a single hour.  (We will examine only a small portion of chapter one at  this first meeting.)  I’m very grateful to the Board of MEL for allowing us to convene in the courtyard of the library, but we must move elsewhere if we wish to continue this conversation.  Please bring your spontaneity.  ~eric.

APOCALYPSE VIII: Le quatrieme Ange sonne de la trompette, image at El Escorial (Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo) uploaded to Wikimedia by Cnb.

Book Review.

What if “The Second Coming” of Jesus, the Messiah, already happened during the span of his own generation, as he himself predicted?  

That it has, is the hypothesis of a rigorous, engaging book which deserves consideration by deeply thoughtful Christians, and anyone who enjoys church history.  I, for one, have long suspected there is merit to such a project.  And the author, Charles S. Meek, has made a superb presentation of this rare position, termed preterism (over-against futurism, and variants of millenialism) which deserves to be more widely pondered.  Be prepared to be effectively disabused of scriptural fantasy if you happen to have read any of the popular “Left Behind” series. And clergy might wish to keep an eye on this book, as it seeds their audiences with focused, pertinent questions.

While the title of the book, Christian Hope through Fulfilled Prophesy is rather bland (and the subtitle is rendered in obscurantist grad-school speak: An Exposition of Evangelical Preterism) — the topic is quite edgy, the writing is logical, compelling, and accessible, if a bit repetitious at times; and the author has done a thorough job of defending his thesis with rigorous examination of scripture, and historical material:  “…we will show that a strong case can be made that fulfillment of the entire prophecy of Revelation occurred in association with the Jewish-Roman War of AD 66-70 and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.”

Normally I avoid books on “End Times” as they are filled with unreasonable speculation and nonsense.  This book intrigued me, as it argues from history, illustrating that we are beyond the era of the promised Parousia (second coming of Christ).  While I’m unfamiliar with the author, and until now was not aware that anyone was working seriously on this topic, this book seems important, as it effectively refutes much that has damaged Christianity.  But perhaps the book needs a new title?  Maybe something like:  

JESUS RETURNED.  Christians Slept:

First-Century Prophetic Fulfillment.

Yes, the book deserves to be repackaged somewhat for the general audience it claims to seek: “this book is written for the informed laymen…”  And, if repackaged, I would hope the author would adjust a few things, like inclusive language (instead of referring to theologians as “men” while several times quoting women from that field).  Mr. Meek also reveals bias against liberal Christians, yet many of his detractors would seem to be his fellow conservatives.  (He appropriately holds the feet of those critics to the fire by diligently focusing on the text.)  And we can suspect that he is liberal-minded in the best sense, due to the controversial nature of his thesis — conservatives putatively being more inclined to hew to the status quo regarding such a topic.  But his bias against “liberals” is often vague, unwarranted, and mostly unfortunate.  

His utilization of pertinent quotes shows us that he has read widely — Tolstoy, Ratzinger, Augustine, Eusebius.  And his end notes are superb in marshaling the history and resources from his research on eschatology regarding his thesis.  He also takes a good shot at careerism among the clergy by formulating questions for parishioners to ask their pastors regarding scriptural positions in tension with an expected second coming of Jesus.  (Heads up. This author is not afraid to stir the pot!)  I’m reminded of a quote from CS Pierce, saying those who love truth are destined to agree – which would seem to characterize the spirit of his effort.  How refreshing!

We are now able to dispense with waiting for search lights to converge on the Temple Mount, scanning the skies for a bearded guy on a white horse, descending in a cloud.  The prophetic promises have been fulfilled, if we are able to agree with the author. Said promises are carefully detailed and examined in this edifying book.