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Friday, April 21, 2023, Delray Beach, FL


Notes From My Journal

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“Poor Wreck That I Am”

Over the past 22 years, I’ve written a fair amount about my experiences with clinical level depression and anxiety, as well as the normal range of self-doubts and self-recriminations that any former altar boy is heir to. I’m proud to say that these pieces have been helpful to many, if I can extrapolate from the dozens of positive comments I’ve received.

I was talking to RT, a friend, teacher, and student, this morning. We were talking about how having a fundamentally negative view of oneself becomes a sort of emotional spring that is always trying to pull one back to negative thoughts and expectations of failure. Even years after one has achieved great success.

Later, this afternoon, I came across the journal entry below. It was written by John L’Heureux, an American novelist and poet that spent the first part of his career as a priest. Just days before his ordination, he writes about how unworthy he feels about the challenge before him. I thought it was a particularly good – and oddly comforting – articulation of that state of mind.

“Thinking about ordination as I do all the time, I find only one thing disturbs me and I don’t know how to formulate it so that it doesn’t sound like the old ‘I’m not worthy’ plea. (Of course you’re not worthy; it would be impertinent of you to wonder if you were.) I have no doubts that I want to be a priest, no uncertainty as to why. But it pains and embarrasses me more than I can say that what I will bring to that altar for ordination is this nauseating sack of guts: selfish, small, lecherous; a mind like a whorehouse; a tongue like a longshoreman’s; a soft mousy body that seeks always its own comforts, a will deluded by hyperactive desires. Poor wreck that I am. Can I give over to God’s service only so little, and that so badly damaged, so in and out of sin and desire? I shall have to let my grotesqueness testify to his mercy. God help me.”

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News & Views

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Vegetarians vs Carnivores: Another Point for Meat Meaters

I have a good friend that has been following a strict vegetarian diet for many years. He’s super energetic and swears by it. If I had to judge by his activity and demeanor, I’d say it has worked for him.

Nevertheless, we have several times debated the wisdom of eating as he does. He’s sent me studies that support vegetarianism, and I’ve sent him The Vegetarian Myth, which makes the case against it.

Recently, he’s developed a condition that makes his bones fragile. It’s scary. And I couldn’t help but wonder if his diet might have something to do with it. It may not. But in looking up “bone fragility,” I came across a short essay, written by a doctor whose books I once published. It’s about a recent study, of more than 26,000 women between the ages of 35 and 69, which found that vegetarians had a 33% higher risk of hip fracture compared with meat eaters.

You can read that short essay here.

Obviously, this doesn’t prove anything. And knowing my friend, I’m sure he’s aware of the latest studies and getting the best medical treatment that’s available. Still, it makes me wonder if there could be a connection.

 

India Surpasses China in Population

Will Its Economy Grow as Fast? 

India is about to pass China as the world’s most populous country. Analytical models project that at the end of this year, China will have 1,426 billion people, while India will have 1,429 billion.

When I was in high school, I remember India having a population of about 500 million. At that time, China’s population was about 650 million.

The difference in total population is insignificant. What is significant is the difference in average age. About 40% of India’s population is under 25 years old, with an overall median age of 28, compared to 38 in the US and 39 in China. That means India’s economy will probably grow faster in the coming years.

 

The Language Police Strike Again! 

Have you noticed that real estate ads no longer say “master bedroom”? Today, they are called “primary rooms.” According to the language police, it’s because the phrase “master bedroom” is racist – i.e., because it originated in the South, referring to the bedroom of the master of the plantation.

Wrong. There is no recorded use of “master bedroom” during the slave era in America, or at any time in the 19th century. The first recorded use was in a 1926 Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog.

I asked one of my real estate brokers if this fact would change her decision to go with primary bedroom. “I don’t think so,” she said. “Sticking with master bedroom is all risk and no reward. The arithmetic doesn’t work for me.”

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Worth Quoting

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“If you can mandate or ban words, you can control thought. If you can control thought, you can control behavior. If you can control behavior, you have created a self-sustaining tyranny.” – Michael Masterson

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Worth Considering

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Good Cop, Bad Cop

Do We Need Stop-and-ID Laws?

Stop-and-frisk was a policy that was ruled legal in 1968. In Terry vs. Ohio, the Supreme Court ruled to allow police officers the flexibility to temporarily detain and search anyone they suspected of doing something illegal. However, in 2015, the Court put additional limits to the policy, saying that the police are not allowed to investigate civilians for any crime other than the one the citizen was detained for. If you’re stopped for a traffic violation, for example, cops can’t have a police dog check you or your car for evidence of drugs. Nor can they detain you longer than it takes to write you a ticket.

Because of the abuse of the “Terry” law, stop-and-frisk policies went largely out of practice. But some legal experts began saying that not only do cops not have the right to frisk you without a reasonable suspicion you’ve committed a crime, they can’t even demand to see your ID.

I mentioned police bullying tactics in my April 7 blog. Since then, I’ve been watching more of these stops on YouTube, and I see now that it’s a complicated situation.

Click here for an example of a “bad cop” approach.

Click here for an example of a “good cop” approach.

In the “bad cop” example, the cop begins politely. But the moment the “suspect” refuses to give his ID, the cop gets angry and loses control. He is so far gone that he either doesn’t hear or doesn’t listen to the suspect’s excuse for being there, and proceeds to assault the man in order to cuff him. What he did resulted in a $5 million lawsuit. And because it was taped by the officer’s camera, it is admissible as evidence. Which means that his response to this situation will cost his department money and may cost him his job.

In the “good cop” example, the officer understands the legal limits of what he can do. (It’s not illegal to look suspicious.) So, while we can applaud him for acting both politely and legally, we can also empathize with how frustrated he must feel in that he can’t do what he was called on to do – which is to find out if this guy is up to no good.

On the one hand, I think Fourth Amendment protection is essential and must be respected. On the other hand, I can see how, if refusing to provide IDs becomes the norm, the course of police work will be difficult. Eventually, if refusing to produce IDs in such situations becomes commonplace, cops will stop responding to calls about suspicious people. 911 operators will inform callers that police can be dispatched only if an actual crime is witnessed.

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Arts & Letters

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“There Is a Good Side to Your Dad” (Fingers Crossed!) 

From Letters of Note…

In 2017, at the end of a particularly bitter custody case in Scotland that resulted in the father being granted indirect contact with his three children, a psychologist advised the presiding judge to break from tradition and delicately communicate the court’s decision to the children by letter. The judge agreed and wrote the letter. Apparently, the judge thought the letter was brilliant. So after being read to the children, she ordered the court to publish it.

The letter, as you will see, is touching. It reminded me of the infamous 1897 New York Sun letter to Virginia O’Hanlon about the existence of Santa Claus. In this case, however, the subject matter is more difficult. Time will tell if it had the salubrious effect intended.

Read the letter here.

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Readers Write

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From AS: “I’d hate to be a cop!” 

“To acquire a concealed carry permit, you had to take eight hours of instruction, including an hour on a firing range. Veterans excused. So aside from getting a little safety training, someone had to put forth extra effort to carry a gun. I wonder how many people already had guns before concealed weapons were allowed in a state like Florida, and how many ran out and bought one.

“The new law passed in Florida by your buffoon governor was passed and signed by Ohio’s buffoon governor at least a year earlier. Ohio finally beat Florida in the arena of stupidity. Before that, policemen would see you had a permit for a weapon when they ran your license and were allowed to ask if you had a firearm. Now they can’t ask. I’d hate to be a cop now more than ever.”

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Postscript

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Sound Like a Native Speaker 

When I was starting to learn French as a Peace Corps volunteer in French-speaking Africa almost 50 years ago, a fellow volunteer who was fluent in French gave me the same good advice this person is giving here.

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"Were it not for hypocrisy I’d have no advice to give."
"Were it not for sciolism I’d have no ideas to share."
"Were it not for arrogance, I’d have no ambition."
"Were it not for forgetfulness, I would have no new ideas to write about."