Sunday/Versus the World

 

On this day:
1776
American Revolutionary War: Thomas Hickey, Continental Army private and bodyguard to General George Washington, is hanged for mutiny and sedition.
1807
Second British invasion of the Río de la Plata; John Whitelock lands at Ensenada on an attempt to recapture Buenos Aires and is defeated by the locals.
1896
An explosion in the Newton Coal Company’s Twin Shaft Mine in Pittston City, Pennsylvania results in a massive cave-in that kills 58 miners.
1914
Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo by young Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, the casus belli of World War I.
1919
The Treaty of Versailles is signed in Paris, formally ending World War I between Belgium, Britain, France, Italy, the United States and allies on the one side and Germany and Austria-Hungary on the other side.
1969
Stonewall Riots begin in New York City marking the start of the Gay Rights Movement.
1987
For the first time in the military history, a civilian target was attacked by chemical weapons when Iraqi warplanes dropped mustard gas bombs on the Iranian town of Sardasht in rwo separate bombing rounds, on four residential areas.
1989
The 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo. Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević delivers the Gazimestan speech at the site of the historic battle, which is later interpreted as foreshadowing the Yugoslav Wars. 600 years.
1994
Members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult release sarin gas in Matsumoto, Japan; 7 people are killed, 660 injured.
2005
War in Afghanistan: Three U.S. Navy SEALs, 16 American Special Operations Forces soldiers, and an unknown number of Taliban insurgents are killed

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"People talk about capitalism and socialism and communism. There’s only two kinds of economic systems: the market-driven and the government-directed. That’s it! The more you move toward a state-directed economy, the less efficient and more corrupt it becomes."--Smith

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Psychology studies say one of the strongest predictors of everyday happiness isn’t income, status, or success — it’s the ability to be present in an ordinary moment without wishing it were something different. 

Vagueness criticisms aside, this is more interesting than it sounds. Is disinterest, imagination, idealism, or fantasy involved? Does engagement show a vital, rewarding quality?

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In 2014, marketing veteran Amanda Lacaze took over the nearly bankrupt Australian mining company Lynas. Over a 12-year tenure marked by aggressive cost-cutting, operational fixes in Malaysia and crucial debt restructurings, she broke through China’s market monopoly and transformed the firm into a vital Western rare-earths powerhouse. Its stock price is now 15 times higher than when she arrived.

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Sunday/Versus the World

Jesus said to his apostles:
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

A harsh gospel that unlinks us with the worldly qualities that we recognize today: Family, tribalism, identity, and self-determination. And one that the evangelists repeated. It demands more than self-denial and sacrifice, a difficult message in any land. It's a spiritual demand to put the world aside.

In a violent, commercial world, that is a difficult task.

Thomas à Kempis wrote that if there were a better way to salvation than suffering, Christ would have told us.

The Vatican softens this gospel, viewing it through a hierarchical 'quality' lens, such as overlooking nepotism as a filter for leadership when better options are available.

This is Herrick close to the topic:


To Keep a True Lent

Is this a fast, to keep
The larder lean?
And clean
From fat of veals and sheep ?

Is it to quit the dish
Of flesh, yet still
To fill
The platter high with fish ?

Is it to fast an hour,
Or ragg’d to go,
Or show
A downcast look and sour?

No; ‘tis a fast to dole
Thy sheaf of wheat,
And meat,
Unto the hungry soul.

It is to fast from strife,
From old debate
And hate ;
To circumcise thy life.

To show a heart grief-rent ;
To starve thy sin,
Not bin ;
And that’s to keep thy Lent.

Robert Herrick 1648