This & That

Fr Peter Totleben:

People often present us with the wrong choice in the Church. They suggest that we have to choose between a larger and more inclusive church which is flexible about its doctrinal and moral commitments, or a smaller and more rigid church which insists on those commitments.

That is not the actual choice that is on the table for us. The actual choice is between a smaller church which is convicted about its doctrinal and moral commitments, and an even tinier church which is ambivalent about these commitments.

The Church is going to get smaller. Our choice is between a smaller Church that has influence on account of its convictions, or a tiny and almost non-existent Church that may be better liked (or less disliked), but which has no real influence because no numbers or convictions.

**

Watched some of Trump’s 2024 announcement.  He had built it up so much beforehand that it was disappointingly just a regular old announcement speech. Some had thought he might declare he was running as a third party candidate, others that he would swing for the fences on ’22 election fraud. But it was standard fare.  

A non-partisan British observer on Twitter said that he thinks Trump popularity is not what it was but that “ongoing economic, financial and geopolitical decline of the US might change that over the course of next 2 years.”

For the GOP, it’s the case where they can’t win with Trump and they can’t win without him. But I don’t know if that’s necessarily bad. The path to real victory (spiritual) is probably short-term/medium-term ruin. After the midterms most on the Right were saying something along the lines, “ok, well, it’s got to get a lot worse before it gets better.”  In a way it was clarifying. 

I have to laugh at how snookered the West is by China. One of the election software systems in the U.S. and Australia is Konnech, a firm with ties to the Chinese company (which means ties to Chinese government).  What’s funny/clueless is how Australia election software had problems on their Election Day due to covid lockdown in Wuhan. The money quote: “The lockdown led to Queensland Parliament Members asking—why Australian election software was being coded by Chinese coders?”

Uh, maybe because the Chinese are typically ten steps ahead of the oblivious West? 


Ultimately I hope Otto Von Bismarck is right that “God has a special providence for fools, drunkards, and the United States of America.” 


**

Why is June 21/22 considered “midsummer” centuries ago when it’s the first day of summer for us? 

A: “Historically, this day marks the midpoint of the growing season, halfway between planting and harvest.”

I suppose if you plant in mid February and harvest at end of October then that puts you at around 6/22 as midsummer.   

But we don’t have the long English growing season here in Ohio (theirs is 250 days while we're at 170 days). For tomato’s it’s closer to 120 days; I plant at end of May and harvest mostly end of August meaning my midsummer is around July 15. All-star game time! Which feels more midsummer by my lights than any other time.