Notes From All Over

5 Responses to Notes From All Over

1. Adam Greenwood on December 26, 2008 at 10:25 am

   I liked Marc Bohn’s link on the Church welfare system. I like the idea that the grain towers at welfare square are as much the cathedral of Mormonism as the turrets at temple square.

2. Bookslinger on December 26, 2008 at 3:47 pm

   I chuckled at how Kaimi recited the mantras of poilitical correctness in order to fend off charges of sexism in his warnings about office-party drinking.

   And the story from the Texas chapel is reminiscent of stories from pioneer days. “You can shoot one of us, two if you’re quick. But that leaves four who are going to take that gun from you and shove it where the sun don’t shine.”

3. Jeremiah J. on December 27, 2008 at 11:07 pm

   I’m very pleased to discover SquareTwo.org, as well as Ralph Hancock’s excellent essay there.

4. Tatiana on December 28, 2008 at 3:10 pm

   Can we comment on BCC sidebar links here too? In this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7801667.stm the Anglican bishops call the ruling party of Britain immoral. One of the things they cite is that the breakdown of the family is something the government doesn’t want to address because it would lose them votes.

   I hear about the breakdown of the family a lot, not least from LDS sources. But I’d like to point out something about how we can strengthen the family. The families that our foremothers had were strong because they were subservient and didn’t try for any equal partnerships in marriage. They did all the dirty work, or had servants do it, and that was it. Nowadays, servants in the US at least cost too much, because there are other options for people from the oppressed classes and for people of color. Nowadays, divorce in the western world is up because women have other options than total economic dependence on males for their own livelihoods and that of their children. It’s because our society is so much more just than in years past that the traditional family has broken down. That is not a bad thing at all. It’s a huge advance morally.

   But what about those families? Don’t we need them? You bet we do! How can we get them back? How about men pulling their share? (I’m preaching to the choir here, of course, because LDS men get taught this by the church from their earliest youth.) But like, we could have school training courses for both boys and girls on parenting. We could have babysitting qualifications be encouraged in scouting. We could show pictures in the media of successful males with their families, holding children, and so on, the same as we do for women. In other words, we could focus on the new type of family where equal partnership has replaced economic duress as the glue that holds the thing together. If we did that, then perhaps the voters would follow.

   [Ed.-- comment at BCC, by preference]

5. Chino Blanco on December 29, 2008 at 6:08 am

   As someone who TA’d for Ralph Hancock one semester way back when, thanks for the link to his “Too Easy” … but special thanks for then placing the link to Charles Blow’s latest op-ed just above it. “Specious neutrality” vs. “All Dogs Go to Heaven” makes for a fun back-to-back read, cheers. Of course, the biggest “thank you” is reserved for linking to my Dec 26 piece on the Beck-Dobson pas de deux.