The Real Crisis of Our Nation

There is a lot of clamor about dire economic conditions these days and now it's even spreading beyond the White House. Peoples' ability to pay for things has been seriously curtailed and in a consumer economy that is a painful situation.

I do not want to deny the danger of a falling economy or belittle the struggles of many people who will be hurt by it, but I do want us to give this situation some perspective on the true crisis we face. If we will just look up from our navel-gazing for a moment to look forward and backward, we may realize a few things:

1. Our situation is not that bad. Consider our situation in comparison with that large trial that the President loves to liken ours' to - the Great Depression. First of all, we have way more stuff than they did back then. Life is dramatically easier and more comfortable while at a relatively low price. We have TVs, microwaves, highly advanced vehicles, computers, too much food, the internet. Heck, even electricity is really quite cheap, for now.

No, technology cannot save us and continues to threaten us in some ways, but the fact is that we are very well off. You ask someone who lived through the Great Depression what it was like and then count your many comfortable blessings.

2. Our economy will recover if given a chance; it always does. I refer you here to Kondratieff's Long Wave Theory about economic cycles, not surfing. Go ahead and look it up or check out this very helpful link: http://www.kwaves.com/kond_overview.htm

The gist of it is that our economy moves in waves over many years based not on complicated mechanisms or calculations, but essentially on human behavior. Things begin going well as we find a winning solution to grow the economy. Out of these roots we grow robustly and reap the rich fruits of our growth. Then we become greedy and shift our focus from growth to consumption. Once production is overrun by consumption, we fall until we begin to learn how to grow again.

The problem right now is that our mechanisms for saving for the fall and winter times are unsteady. In the Great Depression they completely failed. Ours are not beyond saving. This more than anything right now is the problem we must be addressing, but still are not getting our Geithner in gear.

3. Once we recognize the core of the issue, we also realize that we as well as our government are all complicit in this affair. Our economy's contraction is a natural response to careless consumption on every level of society. We did it, our neighbors did it, the investors ("fat cats" to you populists) did it, the government did it. I am sick and tired of all the finger-pointing going on over this "economic crisis." Wall Street/Main Street, fat cats, golden parachutes. It's like children calling each other names on a playground.

Once all of us pots and kettles realize they we all have a bit of a charcoal tint, we can get on with the task ahead of us - planting seeds and growing. Anyone who assigns the blame for our situation to any person, group, or class has an agenda to sell.

4. Considering how we got here also illuminates that this is not really an economic crisis so much as it is a return to economic reality. We have been living in a bubble for many years now. In fact, you could almost say that we have been in something like a giant Ponzi scheme where as long as we kept buying into it, we got payoffs. Now we're out of cash and we need to go back to work.

Reality came calling and caught us with our pants down. The temptation now is to say that our pants are not down and we are actually dressed in the finest new clothes, because we are the emperor of the world, right?

Recently on Glenn Beck's TV show, he showed a graph charting average home prices over the years. Home prices had fluctuated based on various economic times, but the average and most stable home price over the decades was around $100,000 (inflation adjusted). The graph showed average home prices rising rapidly over the 90s and into the 2000s to almost $200,000, and we have only just begun the drop down to normal prices.

The graph was skewed to emphasize the bubble, but the fact is that the housing industry was at an unrealistic and unsustainable level. This led to unrealistic and unsustainable equity which led to unrealistic and unsustainable consumption. Policy-makers helped create the boom by setting interest rates extra low at the Fed to make borrowing easy and by creating programs and "government sponsored enterprises" to make borrowing even easier for people who could not afford to pay.

This is why I say this is not really an economic crisis. This is just reality. So don't let anyone tell you that times are really unfairly bad for us, that we deserve better, or that we can return to the same levels of ease and consumption we enjoyed for many years. We have to return to real life, which is not very comfortable. As the Dread Pirate Roberts said, "Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something." Like a stimulus bill.

5. Once we realize all this, we can address our problems with clearer vision. Unfortunately, our government has not made the step past the bubble. The whole "stimulus" plan was built on bubble ideas. "If we spend, no, reinvest more, then we'll keep prospering like we did before." That is just part of the Ponzi scheme lie that got us here. That's like trying to make a mound bigger by scooping dirt from the bottom of the mound to put on the top. It doesn't make the mound bigger, only less stable.

This is the real crisis. G. K. Chesterton said, "When men have come to the edge of a precipice, it is the lover of life who has the spirit to leap backwards, and only the pessimist who continues to believe in progress." We have brought ourselves to the edge economically by our accumulated mistakes and blindness. Our economy is responding by shedding the unnecessary fat and making the painful return to realism. It is our government now which may push us over the edge.

Our President and Congress' quixotic charge to "stimulate" our economy and maintain failing institutions could push us toward national bankruptcy. My last post outlined how this exact situation occurred in India and could happen to any country that spends more than the economy can sustain. Every dollar of deficit spending is another dollar of new growth that must be used to pay off the government's debts rather than build a new future.

The deficit "stimulus" spending is a lie. The money would have been spent, invested, or saved all on its own by the people who earned it. That "stimulus" was not the government's money. But now that the government committed to spend it, the government committed us (people) to give that money to it.

At our point of greatest exhaustion, the government may suck away the life on which we need to recover. This is why I am scared. This is why I am angry. This is why I criticize and dislike our new administration and Congress. They are painting a smile on a dead horse and beating it some more. They are using Depression-era ideas while pronouncing the death of the Reagan era.

Their actions do not encourage new growth of the people, by the people, and for the people in the economy, but only grow their own power, the burden of which must be carried by the people. This is why they will fail, politically, economically, and eventually electorally if they do not try some change. Let us hope they don't drag us with them.

Is nobody seeing the warning signs?

I opened my international political economy textbook from my basic college international political economy class and I found this. It's about developing countries, but the principles are clear. What are our political leaders reading?

"Economic crises emerged in the early 1980s in large part as a consequence of governments' decision to cover their budget and current-account deficits with foreign loans. Using foreign loans to finance budget and current-account deficits is not an inherently poor choice. But two factors made this decision a particularly bad one for developing countries in the 1970s. First, many of the funds that governments borrowed were used to pay for large infrastructure projects or domestic consumption, neither of which generated the export revenues needed to repay the loans. As a result, the amount that developing countries owed to foreign lenders rose, but their ability to repay the debt did not.

Second, between 1973 and 1982, developing countries were buffeted by three international shocks: an increase in the price of oil, a reduction in the terms of trade between primary commodities and manufactured goods, and higher interest rates on the foreign debt those countries accumulated. These shocks increased the amount of foreign debt that developing countries owed to foreign banks, raised the cost of paying that debt, and greatly reduced export earnings."

It goes on to explain how India of the 70s and 80s, at the time recognized as "one of the most regulated economies in the world," accumulated inefficiencies in state-run enterprises that dominated their manufacturing sector. "The government responded to flagging growth by expanding its expenditures sharply throughout the 1980s. The resulting budget deficit contributed to a persistent trade deficit, which the government financed by borrowing from abroad. By1990 India had become vulnerable to a balance of payments crisis."

Our government is currently embarking on a dramatic deficit spending spree. Deficit spending means the money they spend does not exist, yet. In order to spend, the government must either print money, which means assigning assumed future value to pieces of paper (think Dumb and Dumber, with Harry and Lloyd returning the briefcase of ransom money with IOUs. "We're good for it." Uuuh-huh). Otherwise, the government can get money through loans from foreign banks such as China. As you can see above, this is a dangerous cycle.

I guess my point here is that the redistribution of capital or incurring of foreign loans by the government is leading us into crisis. "Stimulus", social programs, or taxes on the wealthy do not change any of the fundamental problems with the economy, but may in fact exacerbate them.

*Oatley, Thomas. International Political Economy: Interests and Institutions in the Global Economy. 3rd. ed. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2008.

Revenge of the Democrats

Yesterday, I watched some of the stimulus bill conference between House and Senate leaders. In that small portion of the stimulus bill proceedings I saw some of the reasons why this Democrat regime will fail and what the next two or four years will be like.

I am particularly referring to the point in the conference when Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa (yes, a Republican providing input to the stimulus proceedings. Good news, right? Keep reading) admonished the Democratic leaders in the future to be more inclusive in forming major legislation. He was firm, but not antagonistic; conciliatory, by referencing how his own party had shut out Democrats in the past, citing certain incidents in the past involving Rep. Charles Rangel; traditional, by appealing to the history of major legislative work done in the Senate and its bipartisan character; and he was aspirational, not offering condemnation but supplication for a more cooperative future. He said, "I could talk about the substance of the bill, but the point is: we could have a better substance with more votes and got the job done better." It was fair and only about how the legislators work together, not any policy issues.

How did Harry Reid respond to his colleague of more than twenty years and his senior in terms of years served in the Senate? He murmured, "I appreciate you my Republican colleagues complaining about conferences. But you did all yours in secret. We haven't done that. This is an open conference." Reid also stated, "No one needs to lecture me on deficits, because you invented them. Republicans invented deficits." He answered with recriminations about how Republicans shut them out of conferences in the past and handled past legislation. He injected policy differences into the discussion. Not once did he acknowledge the goodwill and wisdom behind Sen. Grassley's comments or actually respond to this offer to work together better in the future. He tried to balance the vengefulness of this statement with empty platitudes and flattery for his colleagues ("One of my friends is Thad Cochran."), but it was clear what his point was. "WE won and you guys were jerks, so I don't really care what you think."

I don't know if there is a more clear indicator that the purpose of the Democrats is revenge. They are still reveling in the victory over the barbarian Republicans and taking every opportunity to reassert that victory. The mask of goodwill has already fallen off. This just reaffirms my last post that said that hubris would be the downfall of the Democrat Party. The lights have come up and the confetti has been swept off the floor, but the Democrats are still dancing.

People are beginning to realize this, too. Check out the open from the last Saturday Night Live:


Let's just hope the Democrats realize that it's time to move forward before it does serious damage to our country. Or is it too late now?

Hubris

Hubris. Get to know that word. It's going to be a popular one in a few years for describing the Democrat party.

For several years, the Democrat party was in opposition. Republicans either held the legislative houses or the Presidency. However, the Democrat party has not been in opposition since 2006 and now are control both the executive and the legislative branch. The problem is that for the past few years they have continued to act as an opposition party, even after they gained Congress. Their main theme was not active government and leadership, but opposition. The 110th Congress was widely recognized for its inactivity, especially in the face of some dramatic difficulties in America. Yet their problems were always pinned on the Republican party, not the actual problems themselves. If only the Republicans weren't in the way, they could make things better. They should have been more careful about what they wished for.

The Democrats are now exceedingly in control and they must perform. There are no more excuses. However, they have not been acting as a governing party or practicing good governance. They are unschooled in the discipline of power. This is not the first time this has happened in politics. In 1979, Joe Clark and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada rose quickly to power and gained control of the government for the first time in many years. Once in power, their actions were undisciplined and too drastic (slogan was "Short term pain for long term gain") and by 1980 were booted out and power firmly returned to the Liberal party for another four years. They were simply unprepared to actually govern as they were only prepared to oppose.

Today, in the Washington Post Eugene Robinson wrote about the backwardness of the Republican Party. He wrote,

"What I've been hearing from Republicans in both the House and Senate has been a kind of attenuated, distorted echo of the economic doctrine that the party has preached, if not always practiced, since the Reagan years. It's perfectly appropriate, of course, to ask whether a specific spending proposal would have the desired stimulative effect; indeed, some items were removed from the stimulus bill for that reason. But underlying the Republican criticism has been a familiar formula: more tax cuts, fewer spending initiatives.

But Americans know that this philosophy has already taken us as far as it could. Americans know that taxes can be cut by only so much before the federal government's effectiveness inevitably suffers."

He eventually concluded, "There is abundant evidence suggesting that we are in a new political era with new rules and a new lexicon." This is going to be the downfall of the Democrats.

Democrats have mistakenly identified their electoral victory as an absolute triumph of their ideas. They are not just the ones in power, they are morally, intellectually, and politically right. Republican ideas and criticisms are not to be heeded because they are from an entirely alien era.

In a January 17 article in the Washington Post, Peter Beinart wrote about how President Bush had been right about the surge and the Democrats needed to accept and acknowledge that for their own sakes. He wrote,

"Because Bush has been such an unusually bad president, an entire generation of Democrats now takes it for granted that on the big questions, the right is always wrong. Older liberals remember the Persian Gulf War, which most congressional Democrats opposed and most congressional Republicans supported -- and the Republicans were proven right. They also remember the welfare reform debate of the mid-1990s, when prominent liberals predicted disaster, and disaster didn't happen.
Younger liberals, by contrast, have had no such chastening experiences. Watching the Bush administration flit from disaster to disaster, they have grown increasingly dismissive of conservatives in the process. They consume partisan media, where Republican malevolence is taken for granted. They laugh along with the "Colbert Report," the whole premise of which is that conservatives are bombastic, chauvinistic and dumb. They have never had the ideologically humbling experience of watching the people whose politics they loathe be proven right."

Democrats are mistaking popularity for moral rectitude. This hubris will lead them into trouble. They will be lucky if it doesn't take them down by 2012. Beyond that, the response will be decisive. Lets just hope their irresponsibility doesn't cost us all.

For your further contemplation, I'll add yet another block quote.
“It is just like the case of a man who learns by heart the angers and desires of a great, strong beast he is rearing, how it should be approached and how taken hold of, when – and as a result of what – it becomes most difficult or most gentle, and, particularly, under what conditions it is accustomed to utter its several sounds, and, in turn, what sort of sounds uttered by another make it tame and angry….Knowing nothing in truth about which of these convictions and desires is noble, or base, or good, or evil, or just, or unjust, he applies all these names following the great animal’s opinions – calling what delights it good and what vexes it bad. He has no argument about them but calls the necessary just and noble, neither having seen nor being able to show someone else how much the nature of the necessary and the good really differ….So, does this man seem any different from the man who believes it is wisdom to have figured out the anger and pleasures – whether in painting, music, or, particularly, in politics – of the multifarious many who assemble?” Plato, Republic

A Change in the Wind

On Wednesday I felt a slight change in the wind. It was almost as if something deep within the earth's crust was shifting, but I noticed it. On Wednesday, the $819 billion stimulus was passed, but no Republicans voted for it. On Wednesday, the Republican party stood for principle again and stood up to the political-media establishment that does not want questions asked of their actions. This is the beginning of change to come.

This bill was a mistake and House Republicans had the wisdom to see it and the guts to stand against it. A stimulus plan is not a bad idea. THIS stimulus plan IS a bad idea. The way it is constructed and inspired is like an accumulation of pork barrel spending. Furthermore, there is no way that the government can retain any measure of satisfactory oversight on the spending. The government is not capable of spending money economically. It can only spend politically, meaning supporting some and freezing out others for political gain.

With debate, study, and discipline this bill could have been trimmed to a suitable size and a perhaps become more suitably targeted. However, the conduct of this bill has been highly polemicized by both the Democratic party and the media. The recovery of our nation's economy could have been a point of unification and a combined effort to carefully plan our steps forward. Instead, it has been turned into panic. The Democrats and the media have not stopped to question the bill, only to incite fear of it not passing. They worked up a scare and then demonized anyone who questioned them. This is not political leadership; this is mobocracy.

I think when 2012 comes around, Republicans will point back to this as one of their defining moments. They stood up against the scare tactics; they stood up against the demonization; they stood up against the establishment. Three years hence, this bill will be considered a mistake and will become an embarrassment to the Democrat party. The Republicans did the right thing and the American people will recognize that.

Back Where I Come From

Tomorrow morning I'm flying home. I'm not flying to my parents house, to my hometown, or my old place. I'm flying HOME. If there is one thing that I learned out here, and I suspect I will learn anywhere I go, I've learned that I know where my home is and who makes it home. I can't say I will always stay there and I probably won't, but wherever I go I know that there is one place where my heart is at rest.

Yet, I am torn. Basically, I love my home. I love my community. I love my friends. Most of all, I love my family. Can I ever leave these behind?

Coming up to my DC trip I was preparing myself, although half-heartedly, to be "home-less" and prepared to go wherever the wind would take me. Essentially, I was trying to keep myself personally and emotionally uprooted in order to move more easily. But it wasn't true. I am not homeless. Lynden will always be home and where my heart rests peacefully.

But it is not yet my time to rest in peace. My life is still before me and the more I see, learn, and develop here, the more I know that I must face and engage the world. I feel the responsibility of knowing. I wanted to look, but once I've seen I cannot go back. God gives us sight so that we may go and do. This is not my statement of intention to save the world or declaration of having figured it all out, but it is my acceptance of responsibility for what God gave me.

The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know. The more I know (as a verb, not a collection of truths), the more I must give of myself. I wished to know the world, but did not realize the cost. Knowing is not about static facts, but dynamic relationship. Relationship can only be and grow as each entity gives of itself. I wished to know the world from my tower and retreat from its harshness into the loving folds of northwest Washington life. I fear that I sacrificed this peace for the pursuit of my passions.

I cannot say that I fell into these pursuits or that they are bad. It has been the call of God. I do not mean the call of God as we popularly hope for and envision. There were no moments of revelations, "signs," or wet fleeces. Instead, I found the call of God written on my heart, as it is in everyone's. God created man in His image and so inscribed His heart upon all the hearts of men that in knowing our own hearts and the hearts of others we may know God more. Thus have I been drawn into the learning of the ways of the world in power and institutions, how they move and influence human life, and how God is revealed or denied in them.

The pursuit of our passions is hardly a happy occasion. When God reveals His interests and passions in ourselves and others, He will also then reveal His great sorrows. He opens our eyes not to the pain of others, but primarily to His pains, if we will see them honestly. There is so much that is broken in this world. You can imagine the pain of a potter discovering the shards of his pottery on the ground. The scariest and most sorrowful part is that these pains will continue. The world groans in the pains of childbirth and God mourns the pain as it does not end. We must accept that there are deep sorrows about the world that will always be present and to care about them is to ever be sorrowful along with our Master. It is only out of true sorrow that joy can come.

Joy is a tragic love that never reaches its peaceful consummation of its love, but remains love triumphant. To love something not in spite of its ugliness, but in its whole brokenness is true joy. Only that can withstand the greatest powers this world can muster. It is not sweet; it is not pleasant; it is not easy. It is love and it is joy.

Suffice to say, the realization of our passions and the joy of God is the realization of great sorrows and the sacrifice of ourselves to the healing of these sorrows. This is where I am often finding myself these days, especially now as I review the beauty and peace of my home. I have found something beautiful to which I want to retreat and in which to hide myself and be at peace. Yet, I feel and I fear that I have already given myself away. I cannot hide away. I have seen and felt the passions God placed in me and seen and felt them in who He is. Therefore, I must live as my Master shows love in Christ. I must sacrifice my right to my peace if I am to love God.

Who knows where this may take me and how much or how little I will do by the world's standards, but I do know I cannot retreat; I cannot hide. I must heed the sign of Jonah. Contrary to what I thought earlier in this DC adventure with the "home-less" idea I do not have to stop loving my home and uproot that part of my heart. I must keep loving it as God loves it.

But I must learn to willfully deny myself the consummation of that love much the way Christ surrendered His place in heaven and connection to God to become a sacrifice for world. Not because the world was where He wanted to be, but because He loved His Father so much and His Father so loved the world. This is not to put me on par with Jesus or Lynden on par with heaven, but it is an expression of a desire to follow Christ more and more deeply. It's not very pretty, but it is beautiful. It's not very happy, but it is love.

I am torn, but in the tearing my life is being made whole. I'm flying home, but after that, who knows?

(Picture by Caitlin Honcoop. I included this picture because it focused in on something along the wayside that is usually passed by in light of more grand impressions. When the focus is placed on this thing, it shows the struggle and the beauty of life. In the harshest of places and bitterest of struggles, a rock at the alpine level, life springs forth and grows into something beautiful. It reflected some of the themes I was grasping at in my writing. Good pic, Cait.)

Antietam and Harper's Ferry

My roommate Ben escorted myself and the ASP program intern Abigail around Western Maryland on Saturday. The main features we visited were Antietam and Harper's Ferry.

Antietam, as in Civil War Battle of Antietam, was a large area, which is now preserved as a park. It was used for the movie Gods and Generals for good reason, because A. it was the actual site of the battle they filmed and B. it's very old and very beautiful. It is not extravagant or colorful, but instead sprawls in wizened grayness across the landscape this time of year. Old-style fences wind and cross all over. Monuments and plaques mark the many placements of regiments, divisions, and commanders. In places, a farm or a church still stand from that time.

We were all impressed by the size of the area. The battle clearly took place over a wide area and it was interesting to catch glimpses of what it must have been like here and there.

We swung through Boonsboro and Sharpsburg as well, both very small but very old towns. Ben took us through his town, Hagerstown, and past his church which was founded in 1770. The town was founded in 1774. Crazy.

The other main highlight was Harper's Ferry. That was the place where John Brown and his followers raided the armory and prepared to arm a slave revolt, but were thwarted by the US military. The historic part of town is tiny and is perched on a point where the Potomac splits into two directions. The buildings cling to their rocky perch with weathered resistance. A beautiful little church stands out. I wish I had a picture of the view of this, but the only view is from a busy bridge.

We went to a Christmas vocal performance in the church and walked around the town a little before heading home.

The West Coast just does not have these kind of things at all. There is history seemingly in the air here. Some of the fields, hills, and houses watched a new world revolt in war and still seem unfazed by the shaking and shifting of the world. This is a very special place.

National Christmas Tree Lighting

We were privileged to attend the National Christmas Tree Lighting on its 85th anniversary. President George W. Bush and the First Lady Laura Bush were in attendance. Everything was very organized and ran very smoothly. The US Army Band was the main source of music and accompaniment for the evening. Along with them was the Enterprise High School Encores, a very talented and energetic performance choir.

The first performer was Jon Secada, a very good singer and Broadway performer. The next was Rissi Palmer who was pretty good. The real magic was Kaitlin Maher. She's four years old and she sings. She debuted on America's Got Talent and she's become very popular since. I am usually unimpressed by child performers and their blatant and cheesy sentimentalities. But Kaitlin Maher was just too cute. I was dumbstruck by just how cute she was. So sweet and just plain magic. She sang really well, but she was tiny and still can't say r's. We were freaking out and the whole crowd was like putty in her hands. Brilliant.

The next performers were called Step Afrika!, a step group that involves an almost hip-hop tap-dance in a group with a lot of flair, creativity, and precision. The next performer was Phil Vassar, I was pleased to learn. He's a favorite of mine and he did not disappoint. Lastly, Santa came out and sang with Rissi Palmer and Kaitlin Maher. Then he performed a special number called "Christmas in Texas," I believe. The President loved it. Throughout the musical numbers you could see him bobbing his head to the music and really getting into it. After that number all the performers came out and sang together.

Then the Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne introduced the President who gave a brief message. Then Laura Bush and the daughters of two US soldiers in Iraq pushed the button to turn on the lights. The President and First Lady proceeded out onto the stage for a brief sing-a-long and the final fanfare.

It was a really fun show, even without the presence of the President of the United States. So much fun. We had great seats. We had seats about 20 rows back from the stage almost right in the middle. Overall, it was a very fun and festive occasion.

New York, Part II

Continued from previous post...

Right at the end of Wall Street there is Trinity Church and I swung through that pretty, old church. The church yard was full of old graves listing dates as late as the early 1700s. They looked almost like props from a movie. Trinity Church was featured in the movie National Treasure.

Then I went back to Times Square to meet up with my travel companions to get tickets to a Broadway show. Each day a store/place(?) in the middle of Times Square has day-of, reduced-price tickets to lots of shows. So my roommate waited in line for over an hour while I visited the Charmin bathrooms.

Right in the middle of Times Square there are huge signs advertising Charmin public bathrooms. I went in the place just to go to the bathroom. I didn't realize that I had signed up for an experience. Inside, an escalator takes you up to a floor that is pumping a song about Charmin that constantly loops while the music video accompanying it plays on screens all around. The rooms are all painted and decorated for Charmin, with a little stage for anyone who wants to do the Charmin dance, little swings, other playground type things, and a mini-store all centered around Charmin toilet paper. Once there, you wait in a line to go into the actual bathrooms room. It was a three-sided room with about 20 individual bathrooms. A guy with a microphone was chatting up each person in line and entertaining everyone as attendants checked each bathroom for cleanliness and then held the door for each person. Inside mine, it was a nice luxurious ski lodge look that was clean and stocked with every type of Charmin toilet paper possible. Only New York.

That night we went to Shrek the musical. It was a fun show. Not the typical Broadway show, but very fun and colorful. The special effects were especially impressive. I wish I could go to a Broadway show every night. So much fun.

Saturday we got up and went to Tom's Restaurant from Seinfeld for breakfast. Then we headed to the south of Manhattan to catch a ferry out to the Statue of Liberty. The wait to go to the Statue was very long so we opted for the cruise instead. That took us around the harbor while giving a good close look at the Statue of Liberty. She is beautiful and I thank God that we can enshrine such virtues at our entrances. The cruise also provided another perspective on just how expansive the city is. What an unbelievable place.

The shuttle bus to the subway took us right past Ground Zero and the construction that is going on there. Our next stop was Chinatown and Little Italy. Chinatown was really busy and all kinds of sketchy. There were blocks of people selling watches, designer purses, scarves, sunglasses, pirated DVDs, and other illegal things to sell. There were a lot of sketchy characters and sketchy deals going on. We caught lunch at one of the hundreds of little Italian restaurants in Little Italy. Then we worked our way past the Asian lady selling designer purses out of a van with garbage bags over the windows on a side street, the people chasing some lady who supposedly had their money, the cops searching another person for something. I was nervous and glad that we finally got out of there.

After killing some time, we hustled back to Penn Station for our ride back. Getting back into DC was refreshing and would have been more so were I not so tired and hungry. Things were so quiet and peaceful. Beyond Union Station there was hardly a soul to be seen and it was beautiful. It was really neat how familiar and homey everything looked here. For the first time since August I did not feel like I was living in the big city.

New York is incredibly dense, intense, and expansive. The city actually never sleeps and I think it has a glandular condition. I was apprehensive going into the trip and many of my apprehensions proved true. New York is an exhausting and crazy place. There were times when my only concern was just getting through to Saturday. But once you are placed into that roiling sea of machines and humanity a funny thing happens - you learn how to swim. There were moments in the city when I felt like a kid the first time up on skis. "Look, Dad, I'm really doing it. I'm living in the big city." It was a challenging experience, but a broadening one.

Being the city also led me to consider those that grow up and live there. What would the world look like to me if I grew up there? Would I just accept that that is the way life is supposed to be? Would I ever see beyond the city limits? After being there for just a short time, I could easily tell who was a New York native and who was not. Something in their faces, the grim set of their mouths and the hard look of their eyes, set them apart. They are very helpful and friendly, but in a distant sort of way. They can go out of their way to help out a random tourist and not display any sort of warmth or any care in the doing. I think that they have learned to be guarded and the constant exposure to masses of people numbs them a bit to other people. They go out of their way to help people because they know that's how to survive in the City.

Being of a political bent, I also see how this can shape a person's political and societal values. Life in the City is a lot less free. Freedom as we know it in the country is not a reality for those in the City. Everything those in the City do, everything they see is part of the City structure. Life in the country is decidedly unstructured. Therefore, those in the country seek to gain and maintain their personal freedom, while those in the City are more concerned about building up and strengthening the structure that orders life. They are two different realities and without understanding the lifestyle of the other, one may never understand the other's politics or come to any agreement.

Laying my political musings aside, I have to say that I am very glad to be back in DC. I never thought it would feel so much like home, but after the tornado of New York it feels like I'm back in Kansas again. I wish I had a little dog, too. I also know now, more than ever, just how beautiful Lynden is -- the Last Homely Home.

New York

I returned last night at 11:30 pm from my Thanksgiving trip to New York City. I left DC on Wednesday morning and after a six and a half hour (normally five hour) drive my two friends and I arrived in New York.

First of all, I must say that if you want to appreciate Lynden, go to New York. I was apprehensive about the trip, having heard the warnings of my roommate who made the trip before and those New Yorkers I met that told me DC was a "small town." Thus, I came into the trip expecting intensity and busy-ness. New York does not disappoint.

From the minute we got off our bus, it was crazy. We disembarked at Penn Station and proceeded to the subway, or at least tried to. Being accustomed to the easy and streamlined DC metro system, we found the New York system to be more complicated and not as nice. It would have been confusing enough on our own, but we had to figure it out while navigating an ocean of humanity. There were masses of them everywhere and all on a desperate mission to get wherever they needed to go.

Finally, we managed to get on the subway in the right direction and then went through the process of checking into the hostel. The hostel is apparently the biggest in the world and is really pretty nice. Things were mostly clean and organized and they had a lot of special programs going on at the hostel or in connection with it. I was in an eight person room. The first night I went to bed with only one other person in the room and woke up with four others. Had similar experiences the other nights. The hostel was interesting, but not a problem.

Since it was not that late, we decided to go out and do some exploring, and so we got to see Times Square for the first time. Times Square is unbelievable. There are an unbelievable number of billboards, lights, and giant screens all flashing logos, products, and videos. It's really quite stunning and I guess I never thought about going there until I was in the middle of it. I wish I could paint a picture with words to describe the buzz and excitement of it all, but there are no words to describe it. It's a can of worms; it's Pandora's box with broken hinges; it's a circus without walls; it's a storm of lights and people. It's way too much. I understand now why so many movies and TV shows depict New York with the camera circling the person in the middle of it. It sums up the madness of the conglomeration of humanity that it New York.

After Times Square, we got on the subway thinking we were going somewhere else, but ended up at Grand Central Station. So we checked that out. Thinking we were near the Empire State building we walked around until we thought we found it, but then realized it was the Chrysler building when we went in. Then we went back to the hostel to get a good night's rest before getting up early for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Bright and early Thanksgiving Day we went to between 50 and 51st on Broadway and claimed our spot for the parade and then waited for two and half hours in just above freezing weather for the parade to start and arrive at us. Yes, it was worth it. I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to be in New York for Thanksgiving again, so I was glad I got to see it. It did not disappoint. I got to see a bunch of giant balloon characters, cool floats, marching bands, and several celebrities, some of whom I recognized (Miley Cyrus, Trace Adkins, Idina Menzel). I would need to watch the Disney channel to recognize some of them. I also got to see Santa, but it wasn't the same guy as on Miracle on 34th Street, so I don't think he was real. We were standing by the families of the first marching band, which was from South Dakota. Nice people. I couldn't believe I was right there watching it all float by. Me and about three and a half million other people. I wish I was kidding. Then we had to fight the crowds more. Later we realized that it would be that full all weekend.

Then we wandered off to try to find the Empire State building again. For some reason we thought it was on the 50 streets, so we wandered that way. The goal of the Empire State building eventually took the back seat as we found more and more to see on each block. You know how in most cities there will be maybe five or six blocks of cool, old, or really big buildings, then it peters out? New York isn't one of those cities. In comparison to everything I've seen before, New York seems to be the only real city. Again I am at a loss for words or pictures to communicate the size of the city. Block after block of soaring skyscrapers, interspersed with nice old buildings and the odd giant cathedral.

We passed the Rockefeller Center and the famous outdoor skating rink. It's not that big and it was full of people with a lineup of hundreds just waiting to get in. We moved on down 5th avenue and the famous shopping district there. Way out of our leagues. Went past Tiffany's and De Beers. Eventually we came to the end of it and realized we were at Central Park. So we walked into and around the park. It was amazing to seek how distinct the line between the park and the city was. There are massive skyscrapers on one side of the street and a quiet pond, trees, and winding paths on the other side. After wandering through there for a while, we learned that the Empire State building was on 34th Street, so we went that way.

On 34th street we walked past Macy's (THE Macy's, all nine stories of it), to finally get to the Empire State building. We had debated about when would be the best time to go up to the observation deck. During the day we could see more, but at night things would be all lit up. It just so happened that we chose the perfect time. We got up there while it was still light, but the sun was quickly fading and thereby got the best of both worlds because in the matter of about 20 minutes we got to see it in the light and the dark.

That has to be one of the most amazing sights in the world. New York city is huge, but you don't fully comprehend it until you see the vast expanse of it from above. It was the first time I had ever seen city as far as the eye can see in every direction. It was amazing and scary. You could actually imagine that you were actually on top of the world and it had all gathered at your feet. What a name mankind has made for itself with that building! It was a truly thrilling view.

Not having any Chinese checkers game to play, we went to a movie and went back to get to bed for another early morning for the two shoppers of the group who wished to dare Black Friday in New York. After I thought about it, I realized it couldn't be that much more crazy than what we were experiencing everywhere we went, all the time. Madness seems less mad when you're living in a madhouse.

We each went our own ways on Friday. I headed for the United Nations. I was immediately struck by the artwork within and without the UN. Right in front of the visitor's entrance there's a sculpture of a revolver with the barrel tied in a knot. Wow! Take that warmongers! The barrel was tied in a knot...so it couldn't shoot! If people everywhere could just see this art, then maybe finally we would all lay down our arms and have a worldwide hug. Thanks, Mr. Sculptor. You just blew my mind. Uh, I mean, you just respectfully and peacefully related with my mind.

Once I got there I realized I wasn't really all that thrilled about the UN. I didn't want to take the time to go on a tour of it, so I looked around the visitor center and bookstore, eventually deciding that the UN is built on a hyper-internationalist, anti-American, and pacifist sub-culture that seems distant from the real world. It has potential, but it has been made into the project of a certain group of people, not all people. I then planned to go to Wall St., but the subway I chose stopped at the Brooklyn Bridge. So I went out on the Brooklyn Bridge, which is cool by itself, but also offers amazing views of the city and the Statue of Liberty.

I finally made it to Wall St. and walked around the financial district a bit. Saw the New York Stock Exchange, Federal Hall (where George Washington took his oath of office), and the other impressive and important buildings there. I didn't see any of those "fat cats" walking around Wall Street with their golden parachutes strapped to their backs, but I'm sure they were inside taking money from Main Street, 'cause that's all they do. Grumble grumble fat cats mumble bail out grumble groan Main Steet Wall street ("Yes, I will have a side of sarcasm with my sarcasm, please."). I did see the NYPD walking around with partial riot gear and M4's. I just realized that it was probably because of the events in India. Hm.

To be continued...

November 5th

Disappointment seems to be the state of affairs among those of us in the conservative camp. But this is not the time to despair. Face the disappointment and them step past it. Reality presented a harsh face to us, but it is not the first time, nor will it be the last. This is not the end, just the next step.

Governments come; governments go. Parties rise; parties fall. But the people remain. The people carry on and build a better tomorrow. Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress are not a danger to our souls and the souls of our families. We are secure in that, unless you doubt the power of God. Congresses and Presidents ultimately cannot change the core virtue of the American people. That is in the hands of each and every family that connects and builds its members up into virtuous, God-fearing people.

In four years or eight years, the votes will swing back the other way and the political agenda of the government will look more familiar. In the end, patience and cooperation will win out. Denial and despair must be left on November 4th as we move into November 5th.

Slowing Things Down....Just Kidding

Classes this week have been a bit more relaxed and reflective, but everything keeps coming hot and fast.

My internship this week picked up a bit. It was my best internship week so far. Due in part to increased tour activity (school fall breaks), I kept busy at work all week, which is a good thing when you're in an internship. As well as doing some tours, I also got to do more substantial and interesting work, which is encouraging and could open up more opportunities as I prove my abilities.

Tuesday I went straight from a really good day of work out to the Washington National Cathedral for a special event there. It was titled America and the World: Picking up the Pieces and featured a star-studded cast of speakers. The main ones were Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft who discussed the future of American foreign policy, moderated by highly respected columnist and writer (Body of Lies) David Ignatius.

They did this to demonstrate the idea behind their latest book which is written as a discussion between the three of them. Brzezinski and Scowcroft represent Democrats and Republicans respectively and have been involved in American foreign policy for many years and are respected as some of America's most esteemed statesmen. Contributing to the discussion after them were three highly involved activists and writers representing views from Africa, China, and the Middle East.

The night was capped off by a rousing speech given by Thomas Friedman another very famous and important contemporary thinker and writer. His speech was the highlight as it presented the most inspiring view of America's future in the world that I have heard in a long while. It is not often that a discussion of American foreign policy among international experts remains distinctly positive about America's importance and ability to be the world's leader in the present and future challenges we face. Each of the speakers was convinced of the need for America to lead on the world stage. They were not blind to the glaring weaknesses and failures of America, but neither were they blind to the great accomplishments and potential of America. A truly thrilling evening. Plus, I got to meet Thomas Friedman and get him to sign my program. Woot!

Oh, yeah. On top of all that awesomeness, the event took place in the Washington National freakin' Cathedral. It was the first time I'd seen it at all. It's huge! What an amazing and beautiful place. This also meant that the venue contributed to the inspirational quality of the event. What an opportunity!

The one downside was that I was not able to eat until after 10 that night. However, this was just the beginning. Wednesday night was what has been termed the starvation boat cruise.

It was billed as a Potomac dinner cruise. On arriving at the dock and walking down the ramps, we marvelled at some of the nice boats that we apparently would be boarding. We seemed to be walking toward one nice-looking one. "Ooh, this looks cool," I thought. Then I saw our group being directed toward the Nightingale. "Oh. Shoot." The Nightingale was clearly the cheapest boat at the dock, aside from Nightingale II. It was a comically tragic moment. Then, we learned upon boarding that the dinner we were supposed to eat was in the wrong spot so we would not get food until after the cruise. This was bad news. Besides all that, the night was one of the colder ones we had experienced so far. To make matters worse, as we backed out of the dock a thick, dirty cloud of smoke blew straight into us. It was such a collection of crappy things that it was just kind of funny at that point. There was nothing we could do but make the best of it. To make up for it, a group of us went to an IHOP to get the All-You-Can-Eat pancake deal afterward.

After starving myself for two nights in a row, I guess I thought I might as well keep it rolling. Political philosopher Charles Taylor was speaking at Georgetown on secularity, faith, and public life on Thursday night. I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Again I left work a little early and went straight to Georgetown. Unfortunately, we arrived about 10-15 minutes late. Normally this would be manageable, but Charles Taylor is a brilliant political philosopher and his lecture was very dense. It was also his third lecture of the week in a series. Basically, it was hard to follow and fully appreciate. I was glad I went to at least say I went to see him. After that I was done with running myself into the ground each night. No more starvation, thank you.

Saturday was the next event. Myself and several others from the program signed up to do a bus trip for the Republican National Committee as part of the 30 hours of campaigning we are required to do for our class project. We departed at 7:30 am and made sure to get on the bus to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (2.5 hour drive), not the one to Springfield, Virginia (40 min. drive). So I got a free trip to Pennsylvania, my first time there. I paid no money, but I did have to pay in man hours. I spent almost all of the time there phone banking, which can be interesting, but after the first half hour the euphoria of calling people who don't want to be called wears off, leaving you to wallow somewhere between anger and suicide. So it was a long day, but I got in 12.5 campaign hours. Phew.

Upon returning, I discovered my package from home. I have a lot of words and none of them quite fit just yet, so I will just say thank you. It was a real blessing and encouragement. Upon opening it, I immediately read the Lynden Tribune and proceeded to flatten out the Bellingham Herald that had been used to pack the stuff in the box and read it, too. For a while I could feel the peace of home in northwest Washington again. Thank you.

This morning I went off to church at Capitol Hill Baptist Church for the second time. Although I initially went to the church just out of casual interest last week, I have struck both times by both a challenging sermon that spoke right into my life and thoughts as well as an obvious commitment to adhering to the foundations and tradition of the faith. The music is all hymns, which I find very refreshing. Hymns are so beautifully crafted and so grounded in the foundations and Truth of the faith. I am thoroughly disenchanted by contemporary style churches. I had given up hope of ever really finding a church that actually challenged me by building directly out of the foundations of faith and not trying to be more modern or "relevant" (actually making them irrelevant). I didn't really expect it, but I think I've found my church.

Tonight I made and ate some cornbread. I found the same stuff that we have at home, bought a pan for it, and baked some up. If I had some homemade syrup, it would have been a complete experience. Alas, I will have to wait about a month and half for that. Parties and candidates may rise and fall, speakers pontificate, and philosophers philosophize, but I know that in my corner of the world I have home and home has my favorite syrup.

Milking Washington

Last Friday, as part of our courses at ASP we got to go to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (OEOB to you Oliver North readers). There we met with the Deputy Director of the Public Liaison of the Executive Office of the President and the Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. They spoke about their work and their views on how their work and politics in general related to faith.

By Monday, I was on the South Lawn of the White House. My buddy who interns at the Pentagon hooked myself and others up with tickets to the arrival ceremony for the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. We got up early and headed off to the White House where we gathered to watch the fanfare of troops, military bands, and two heads of governments showering each other with compliments. It was really cool seeing George Bush for real and being that close to the White House. Now if he would just let me inside...

Monday night, I grabbed a student rush ticket to the Washington Capitals hockey game which got me a great seat in the lower section to watch the Caps play my old favorite team the Vancouver Canucks. It was cool seeing the Canucks again, watching an exciting hockey game, and having my new favorite hockey team beat my old one. During the game I called one of my Vancouver friends to let him know I was at the game he was watching on TV. As I was talking to him, Vancouver scored. I groaned and then five seconds later he suddenly cheered. Forgot about the delay. After exiting the game, there was a really cool jazz/dixieland band playing good music and partying it up. It was a roaring good time until the cops came and broke up the good time.

Tuesday night we had an important paper due at 11:59 pm. One energy drink later, I emailed it in at 11:41 and felt more alive than I had felt in a while. It's amazing how much stress affects you subconsciously. Wednesday after work, class, and family dinner night, a group of us went ice skating. Afterwards, we tried to catch some of the debate at the nearest pub that was showing it. As we went into the room with the debate on, it was clear we were not in the best place to watch it. The doorway had an "Arlington Obama supporters" sign and the tables were filled with various sign-up sheets and Obama paraphernalia. Everyone in there was clearly and vocally an Obama supporter. We finally tired of that and left.

Thursday was actually pretty busy at work. I gave two tours, one surprise one in the morning to a group of German high school students. Luckily they knew English. The tour in the afternoon was for a group of 8th-graders who were pretty fun for a while, but they had been up since 2 am and by the end of the tour they were exhausted and so was I. ("Guests, guests...")

PSA: If you are ever going to be on a tour of the Capitol, or anywhere for that matter, please be aware of the fact that you take up a certain amount of space and the fact that that space and your use of it affects everyone else. Follow your tour guide and stick close to him or her to both hear what they have to say and to stay out of other peoples' way. Listen to what they say. Do what they say. It is not your space. It is a privilege to be there. When you enter a room, do NOT stop in the entrance and take all your pictures then no matter how much you block the entrance and your guide beckons you onward. Pay attention to where your group is. Do not leave your group. Ask good questions. Don't discuss my, I mean, the tour guide's position on the election. If you follow these simple guidelines, you will have a better tour and your tour guide will not say mean things about you after you are gone.

So basically, work ran me into the ground. But after a quick change and a quick bite to eat on the way, I was off the last DC United soccer game at home. Unlike the last game we attended, we got tickets in the supporter section. It was sweet! We had great seats close to the field and the supporters' section was constantly raucous. We waved flags, joined in the constant chants and cheers, and yelled until we were hoarse and we had a 2-1 victory. What a night!

Friday night we went out for dinner for one of the guys birthday. We ended up walking around Dupont Circle until about midnight. Today, I spent the day at Mount Vernon. It was a beautiful day. It's just at that point where it is tipping toward the chill of fall, but still clinging to summer's warmth. We got to walk around a really pretty, green, open, and forested area of land, which I appreciated. Saw some animals, got a wagon ride, roasted apples, observed a different way of threshing grain, and met George Washington. It was a fun day.

So here I am, trying to catch my breath and trying to look past my white knuckles clinging to this adrenalin-fueled carousel ride and see just how lucky I am to be here and milk Washington for all it is worth.