The article of the year - 2019

I would be remiss if I didn't link to Gary Saul Morson's clarifying article from the October 2019 issue of The New Criterion, "Leninthink."

It is quite a long read, but the information is so important that it is well worth the time. It gives insight into the political debates of today.

It is the best article I read on the internet in 2019.

Putting Conservatives in a Box—A Case Study: The Pantone Color of the Year

For leftists, politics is personal, and like religious people, they look for opportunities to evangelize. I work in the publishing industry, so I pay attention to things like Pantone’s color of the year announcement. This year, I was disappointed to see that Pantone chose Classic Blue (19-4052) as the color of the year for 2020. I was disappointed because it seemed like a definite endorsement of the Democrats in an election year.

To be sure, the announcement from Pantone said absolutely nothing about the 2020 presidential elections.

A timeless and enduring blue hue, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue is elegant in its simplicity. Suggestive of the sky at dusk, the reassuring qualities of the thought-provoking PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue highlight our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era. Imprinted in our psyches as a restful color, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue brings a sense of peace and tranquility to the human spirit, offering refuge. Aiding concentration and bringing laser like clarity, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue re-centers our thoughts. A reflective blue tone, Classic Blue fosters resilience. As technology continues to race ahead of the human ability to process it all, it is easy to understand why we gravitate to colors that are honest and offer the promise of protection. Non-aggressive and easily relatable, the trusted PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue lends itself to relaxed interaction. Associated with the return of another day, this universal favorite is comfortably embraced. “We are living in a time that requires trust and faith. It is this kind of constancy and confidence that is expressed by PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue, a solid and dependable blue hue we can always rely on. Imbued with a deep resonance, Classic Blue provides an anchoring foundation. A boundless blue evocative of the vast and infinite evening sky, Classic blue encourages us to look beyond the obvious to expand our thinking; challenging us to think more deeply, increase our perspective and open the flow of communication.” —Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the PANTONE Color Institute

Maybe my initial, gut reaction of disappointment was just me being overly sensitive from years of working in a liberal workplace and industry. So I Googled “Pantone color of the year 2020 democrat,” and I discovered several news outlets had already asked the company about the possibility of a political message in the color of the year, and the spokeswoman assured the reporters that there was no political message intended. Reading through some of the comments below the article, liberals were quick to scoff at conservative commenters and tell them that they were too sensitive.

But when I looked at articles from liberal websites, the writers had no doubts that the blue was chosen to be a political statement, and they were very happy about it.

Here are three representative articles from links on the first page of my Google search:

Jezebel: “If I’m thinking politically, maybe a blue color alludes to a Democratic victory. In that case, forget anything negative expressed here. Go blue!”

artnet news: “Move over millennial pink, and make way for the color of the Democratic Party.”

Mashable: “Pantone's 2020 Color of the Year carries more than one message.”

And here is an example of what liberals thought of the Pantone color of the year when they were talking amongst themselves:

So the box that conservatives find themselves in is being lectured on one hand (“How can you think that the professionals at a non-partisan organization like PANTONE would let themselves make decisions about their work because of politics” or “You right-wing crazies see conspiracies around every corner”) and the reality that these things come up all the time, always in one direction. It’s like the deep state, but in the business/professional world.

But as has been pointed out, politics is downstream of culture, so as long as those who are powerful in government, business, the academy, or the media want to inject their politics into their work, then they are going to do that. I guess I would like it to be without all the lies.

While Regular People Are Living Their Lives, Ideologically Impassioned Busybodies Are Changing the Rules

It’s always interesting to see a person of the left encounter leftism in action.

Last year, in a meeting at work, a guy on my team was complaining about how Lyndale Avenue in his very liberal neighborhood of Minneapolis was reworked from a four-lane road into a two-lane road. 

Here is how Lyndale Avenue is described on Wikipedia: 

“After their junction at 56th Street West, the road becomes a divided two-lane roadway across Minnehaha Creek and north toward Uptown. Near the intersection with Lake Street, it becomes a four-lane again, a major commercial street which remains continuous until the Virginia Triangle.”

This construction to a two-lane road makes the street very busy at certain times of the day, and in fact, the street would often become gridlocked where cars couldn’t turn onto the street or cross Lyndale because of backed up traffic. For the people who live in that neighborhood, any kind of driving during rush hour gets very difficult.

As he was talking about this issue, my co-worker’s face got red as he got more and more angry. He said that he would personally campaign for someone who would run against the council members who voted for this change to Lyndale.

A woman I work with who was also in the meeting, defended the roadway planners. (Her husband works for a suburban office that makes these kinds of construction decisions.) She said that municipalities schedule public meetings where people can argue against these changes if they don’t like them.

It didn’t occur to me to say this in the moment, but afterwards I thought, “What a screwed-up system if the only way for the public to stop bad road and city planning ideas is to attend public meetings.” Shouldn’t the public be secure in knowing that the people who get these jobs would be looking out for the interests of the people in the neighborhoods they serve? But we live in a time when road designers hate the fact that people travel in cars on roads. We live in a time when teachers are more interested in indoctrinating kids than educating them.

Similarly, we live in a time when committees are organized at people’s workplaces to implement policies that only one percent of the population even cares about. At my work, there is an OfficeVibe email that comes out once a week for employees to respond to a short survey of five questions about how they are doing at work. There is also a chance to make a comment about things that could be improved at work. Well, as night follows day, an email like this shows up in my inbox:

Subject: Idea from an OfficeVibe comment coming to life! Greetings; There was a comment in OfficeVibe that shared appreciation of the things Think Small has that are noticed by the LGBT community—like our uni-sex restrooms. The person making the suggestion was open to brainstorm and so [we] met so she could share her research and ideas. . . . Another thing she mentioned (that I’ve seen other organizations do), is add pronoun preferences to the email signatures. We’ve decided to make this a voluntary option for staff and have a template for how it would look (see below). The other pronoun options could be ‘he/him/his’ or ‘they/them/theirs’.  

Even working for a left-of-center organization, I was surprised by this kowtowing to the latest leftist fads. I have no intention of playing the stupid pronoun game. But it shows that ideologically impassioned people are always looking to foist their views on the rest of society and by any means. The average person who assumes that commonsense people are still in charge will find out that he is wrong.

I have come up with a brief couplet to best help me navigate these dangerous times:

Acceptance, not approval.Tolerance, not celebration.

 Following the ideas behind these two lines can allow me to be in this society, but not to surrender to it.

A Friend's Story Is Linked on Instapundit

I read the Instapundit website daily, and yesterday I was surprised to see a link to an article about a man who was a high school and college classmate of mine. Instapundit has national and even international reach, so it’s interesting to read the story and the comments from readers about someone I know personally. 

And because I know Aaron, it gives the whole story a different spin. I was able to see how a good man was harmed for fighting back against a wrong-headed policy. I was able to see how the school district was determined to make Aaron pay the price for speaking out. I even wrote a blogpost about back in 2012.

Aaron’s a good guy, and I’m glad to see he received a settlement for being harassed out of his job. In the Star Tribune story about the settlement, there was an interesting part that has long-term ramifications for those of us who do not agree with the way the politics of the day are moving (my bolding):

In the federal lawsuit Aaron Benner filed in 2017, he claimed the district essentially forced him to quit by investigating him four times in the 2014–15 school year—even though he had never been disciplined before. The personnel moves against him came after Benner joined four other teachers at a May 2014 board meeting in pushing for higher expectations of students and greater consequences for those who misbehave. Benner, who is black, accused the district of failing black students by not holding them accountable for disruptive behavior.

The four investigations are a scandal, and those who initiated those investigations should be disciplined. This is how organizations and governments operate against those who argue against bad ideas and bad policy. They have no qualms about having good people lose their jobs. 

It reminds me of the story about Brendan Eich, who was removed as the CEO of Mozilla because of having contributed to an organization that was trying to keep marriage in California between a man and a woman. Even a year after losing his job, those who worked to have him removed weren’t done with the struggle session:

Last week, Hampton Catlin—a computer programmer and gay rights advocate—started taunting Eich on Twitter. Catlin tweeted, “. . . couple weeks since I'd gotten some sort of @BrendanEich related hate mail. How things going over there on your side, Brendan? Eich responded, “You demanded I be ‘completely removed from any day to day activities at Mozilla’ & got your wish. I'm still unemployed. How're you?” Catlin continued to gloat.

So I take my hat off to Aaron, who stood up for what was right, even though it cost him his job. Mark Steyn, the excellent Canadian writer who is fighting a free-speech court battle, gives a sense of how hard it is to fight back in one of his best columns:

Most of us are not cut out to swim against the tide. For one thing, it's exhausting. Tides ebb and flow, and it's easier just to go with it. In Germany, maybe if your very best pal was Jewish, you'd say something. But, if it's just the greengrocer or the elderly couple in the second-floor flat that you nod to on the stairs, do you really want to make a fuss and have arguments with your family and friends all the time? Isn't it easier just to say nothing?

God grant me the strength to swim against the tide.

What Is Hypocrisy, and What Does It Mean for Christians Today?

Most mornings, I play a local Christian music station on the radio while I drive my son to school. Between songs, the morning host will often share some inspirational or Christian-themed news of the day. The other day, he related a story about how a homeless man was treated by a particular Christian congregation before a Sunday service. According to the story, the elders announced the name of the new pastor to the congregation and then this occurred:

The homeless man sitting in the back stood up and started walking down the aisle. The clapping stopped with all eyes on him. He walked up the altar and took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment then he recited, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’ “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ‘The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning. Many began to cry, and many heads were bowed in shame. He then said, “Today I see a gathering of people, not a church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples. When will YOU decide to become disciples?” He then dismissed service until next week.

This story didn’t hit me in the way that the host of the radio show intended. I thought that if this is indeed a true story, the pastor basically joined the sentiments of those who hate Christians in order to call out the members of his congregation as hypocrites. And worst of all, the the pastor sent them on their way without any discussion or catechesis. If I were a part of that congregation, I would consider looking for a new church.

In contrast to the above story, I prefer the insight from my priest of 30 years ago. He said that people told him that they didn’t like going to church because there were so many hypocrites there. My priest’s response was, “There’s always room for one more.”

All of this got me thinking about how hypocrite is used so often as a club to beat your rival or political opponent. Certainly, we are all hypocritical at times, but the hatred people express when calling someone a hypocrite is astounding. I would argue that even beyond Dennis Prager’s list of names liberals use to shut down debate with conservatives (“sexist, intolerant, xenophobic, homophobic, Islamophobic, racist, and bigoted, not to mention anti-intellectual and anti-science”), being called a hypocrite is probably the worst thing a person can be accused of in today’s society.

In the Bible, we know that Jesus used the term. Hypocrite appears in the New International Version (NIV) translation of the gospels 17 times: once in Mark, three times in Luke, and thirteen times in Matthew.

Most of these references are directed at the “teachers of the law and Pharisees,” who the Bible tells us were often at odds with Jesus. But who were these “teachers of the law and Pharisees” that received Jesus’ condemnation? 

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines hypocrite with two entries:

1: a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion

2: a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

The more common definition that we think of today is the second entry. But the first entry is the older meaning and probably closer to the Jesus’ meaning in the gospels. Etymologically, the Greek origin of hypocrite is hypokritḗs, meaning “actor on a stage, pretender.”

So I think that we have to be careful about pointing to Jesus’ use of the term in the gospels and drawing a straight line to religious people of today. I think Jesus is commenting on the false religiosity (as in putting on a play) as well as the pride of the “teachers of the law and Pharisees,” which is what made these people the hypocrites of Jesus’ condemnation.

As it stands in the United States today in 2019, there is no cultural status in being a Christian, and most Christians I know are not prideful people. There are some to be sure, and they match Jesus’ meaning of the word, but most Christians I know are doing their best to honor God and to follow Jesus.

At the same time, Christians find themselves stuck between the rock of trying to live a moral life and evangelize the faith and the hard place of being human and failing in that endeavor. People who hate Christians and God denounce those who are not perfect as hypocrites and even worse. On almost any day, I can go to Yahoo.com and read an article that paints the Catholic Church or a particular Christian in a negative way. If you have the stomach to read through the hundreds of reader comments to these articles, you will see a majority of commenters blasting the faith and its practitioners. At best, the Christian faithful are seen as sheep, blindly following outdated dogma. At worst, they are seen as accomplices in the raping of children, stealing from indigenous people, and hating women and homosexuals. The last thing Christians need at this time are pastors who humiliate their congregants as hypocrites. That assault merges seamlessly with the goals of the political left, which desires the elimination of Christianity.

Fifty years ago, the leftist organizer Saul Alinsky published a book called Rules for Radicals. These rules are often mentioned at Instapundit.com and other right-leaning websites because conservative commentators find it is helpful to know what the political opposition is thinking, and also because there are opportunities for the right to use Alinsky’s rules against the left.

Alinsky specifically mentions Christians in Rule #4: 

“The fourth rule is: Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.” 

This is perhaps the most difficult of Alinsky’s rules to successfully counter if you are a Christian, and he knows it. Here, the accusation of “Hypocrite!” stings the most because the person of faith is at a disadvantage because they are attempting to transcend basic human nature around power and selfishness. This makes some people very angry, and they lash out at any failing from a person of faith. And a Christian’s tenants of faith are not secret, so anyone who grew up in America knows even in passing enough about the teachings of Jesus that he can turn the tables on a Christian.

Christians are in a tough position in these times of divided culture and politics because Christians depend on decency and understanding, even from those who don’t share our beliefs. The left is not interested in extending either of these considerations to Christians, mainly because they see Christianity as one of several enemies. With all this in mind, I can say pretty assuredly that one thing that believers today do not need is to be labeled a hypocrite by other Christians.

26 Somewhat Obscure Pop Songs from the 1990s That I Like

I’ve previously listed 5 Obscure Songs That I Like from the 1960s; 20 Obscure Pop Songs That I Like from the 1970s; and 25 Somewhat Obscure Pop Songs from the 1980s That I Like.

For my 1990s suggestions, the songs run the gamut from very obscure to not overly obscure. But in the ’90s, it was getting more difficult to know whether or not a song was widely known in the culture. A song might have heavy play on an alternative station, but be invisible to kids watching MTV and listening to pop music on the radio. It’s also hard to know how deeply people listened to even the most popular CDs. I have selections on my list from Jagged Little Pill, Weezer’s Blue Album, and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The songs seem obscure to me, but maybe others will not agree since they were on hugely popular CDs.

The 1990s began with hair metal and rap ascending the pop charts and modern rock becoming established as an alternative for people who didn’t like what was being offered on the pop charts. Everything in rock music changed with the arrival and ascendency of grunge in 1991–1993. Nevermind by Nirvana killed off hair metal within a year or two, but what is less-widely acknowledged is how grunge also changed modern rock. By 1994, modern rock/alternative stations no longer played late-80s style of college radio and pop alternative (Psychedelic Furs, R.E.M., etc). Everything became louder, darker, and more serious. This was unfortunate, because the popular music umbrella had been expanding, but with grunge, it was now contracting. Through this time period though, some great music was being made and for those who knew where to look, they could find interesting music to listen to. Here are 26 songs worth checking out:

26. “Euphoria” by School of Fish

I discovered this song since I began writing up this list, but I wanted to include it. To my ears, “Euphoria” is a very good tune that stops short of being great. I think a top alternative rock producer could coax greatness from this song—it needs something in its instrumentation that builds up to something special.

25. “When I’m Not” by The Magnolias

The Magnolias are a Minneapolis-based rock band that had a little bit of local success in the early ’90s. The lead singer in the band worked part-time at a local record store that I would visit back in the day. “When I’m Not” has a great vibe and nice tune. It reminds me a little bit of Superchunk.

24. “Sooner or Later” by The Feelies

The Feelies were an alternative media darling in the ’80s, but their album Time for a Witness, from which this song was taken, was considered one of their lesser albums. I really like this song and it fits with the sound of the groups that started the Americana or alt-Country genres.

23. “Step through the Portal” by Elf Power

Lo-fi music became a thing in the ’80s and ’90s. Instead of recording in an expensive studio, alternative and garage bands recorded their music in their basements and bedrooms. This song is one lo-fi effort that really appeals to me.

22. “Make a Deal with the City” by East River Pipe

Another lo-fi effort that is tuneful and wistful. I wish there was more music like this being made today.

21. “Snail” by The Smashing Pumpkins

The two biggest alternative records of 1991 were Nevermind by Nirvana and Ten by Pearl Jam. Because of those two Seattle-based bands, the entire landscape of rock music changed in the early ’90s. But better than either of those two albums was another 1991 record: Gish, by an alternative band out of the Chicago area. Every song except for “Suffer” and “Daydream” is very good, but perhaps the best obscure song on the CD is “Snail”—a great Smashing Pumpkins groover.

20. “Dreamtime” by The Heart Throbs

Heavy on synthesizer and pop in its sensibility, this kind of music was played on modern rock radio stations in the late ’80s to early ’90s. I’ve included a few modern rock songs from the year 1990 on this list, and this is an example of another type of music that was buried by grunge.

19. “I’ve Got to Go Now” by Toni Childs

Adult alternative is a subgenre that has a lot of boring music in it, but sometimes when the melody, lyrics, and vocal delivery are just right, then you have a special song. This is one of those.

18. “Can’t Be Sure” by The Sundays

The Sundays were the alternative flavor of the month for a short time in 1990 with their minor hit, “Here’s Where the Story Ends.” The song that follows that song on the Reading, Writing and Arithmatic CD is just as good, if not better.

17. “My Favorite Drug” by The Pleasure Thieves

If this song was released in 1986, it probably would have been a big hit. But it came out in 1992 and couldn’t really find an audience. It was played for a few weeks on the local alternative station and was never heard from again. It is also surprisingly difficult to find today.

16. “California” by Wax

There is a style of music that I call “energy” songs. These are not necessarily the loudest or most rocking songs, but they are songs that make you want to move—“Ray of Light” by Madonna, “Song 2” by Blur, and this song are examples of energy songs.

15. “Shutter’s Closed” by Tripmaster Monkey

Similar to energy songs are a style of song that I call “groovers.” These are songs that buzz along almost as a drone note and seem to slide from chord to chord. The Smashing Pumpkins cover this musical ground with a lot of their songs. And a little like the shoe-gazer genre out of Manchester, this song features heavy, buzzing guitars and a great melody. One of my favorite, truly underappreciated rockers from the ’90s.

14. “Fear of Falling” by Shona Laing

Another adult-alternative gem, “Fear of Falling” creates a great mood and a melancholy tune.

13. “Watch Me Fall” by Uncle Tupelo

From one of the original alt-country groups comes a fast-tempo country-rock classic.

12. “Mary Jane” by Alanis Morrissette

Jagged Little Pill was one of the biggest records of the ’90s. I am not in the target audience for this album, and I can take or leave most of the songs on the CD. But I really like this deep track.

11. “Sonic Boom” by The Gear Daddies

The Gear Daddies, from rural Minnesota, are kind of a local flavor. Their biggest national exposure was “Stupid Boy” off the Billy’s Live Bait CD. “Sonic Boom” has the kind of country, laid-back feel that is instantly appealing.

10. “Dumpweed” by blink 182

There are some bands who release an album, and it creates kind of a subgenre of copycats. I think Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix and Enema of the State by blink 182 are two records like that. “Dumpweed” begins Enema of the State on a raucous and melodic note.

9. “Here Is No Why” by The Smashing Pumkins

My theory is that Billy Corgan is interested in cool sounds, and he is able to craft those cool sounds into great songs. The clipped B and E chords that open “Here Is No Why” builds into a greater song than it should.

8. “Little Suicides” by The Golden Palominoes

The Golden Palaminoes were kind of a concept band with different lineups and singers on different albums. This song is a mellow alternative song that is tuneful and yearning.

7. “100 Ways to Kill a Love” by The Power of Dreams

The Power of Dreams is an Irish rock band that never had a big hit in the U.S., but “100 Ways to Kill a Love” got a short run on the local modern-rock station in 1990.

6. “Shrine” by The Dambuilders

There are not many songs that have a simple bass line as a chorus, but this is one of them.

5. “Not an Addict” by k’s choice

This song tells the story of addiction from the point of view of the addict who is lying to herself. It slowly builds in tension and volume, the storytelling and music work together to make this a great song.

4. “It’s Up to You” by The Jayhawks

A lesser-known song by the Jayhawks in their post-Mark Olson period, this song has blissful melodies and a well-constructed tune. Lyrically, it works as a kind of “cut-down” song, but not angry.

3. “My Name Is Jonas” by Weezer

The first song on the first side of the first Weezer album, you would hope this would be a great song—and it is. “My Name Is Jonas” builds an amazing energy that finally explodes in the great Friday afternoon chorus: “The workers are going home. The workers are going home, yeah!”

2. “That Was Another Country” by Innocence Mission

When I first heard “Bright As Yellow,” the first single off of the Innocence Mission’s Glow album, I wrote them off as Sundays and Cranberries clones. This they may be, but “That Was Another Country” is a startlingly beautiful song.

1. “Mayonnaise” by The Smashing Pumpkins

When I attended a Smashing Pumpkins in the early 2000s, this song was one of the encores. It starts out with a very pretty acoustic guitar line, then the vacuum cleaners/guitars get plugged in and we’re off to a lovely mid-tempo rock nirvana.