War - what is it good for.

A short thought-gem before a road trip today:

War is a dreadful thing; but it does prove two points sharply and
unanswerably -- numbers and an unnatural valour. One does discover the two
urgent matters; how many rebels there are alive, and how many are ready to be
dead. -GK Chesterton 'What's Wrong with the World'

Time magazine once asked prominent authors, and thinkers the question "What's wrong with the world?" To which GKC replied:

Dear Sirs,
I am.

Sincerely, -GK Chesterton

He then proceeded to write a book with things wrong with the world, but I feel his first answer is best. Humanity is wrong. Me. We are all fallen. A fallen world means that "any man can fall, miserably, at any moment at any situation. Including this man, from this time, at this place." Plus the wit and brevity of GKC pours through.

Ninj-allie

My little girl turns 2 today. Happy B-day!

She's a special, magical child. She can charm you with smallest smile, head tilt or cutest little sound that is slightly past gibberish on its way to a real word. She transform into the most capable little person able to sit and eat and drink from big cup without spilling a drop. She casts a spell and leaves you mesmerized at this person flying through the room to scold the dog (or feed it). Your magically drawn into picking her up and hugging her. I do it without thinking, I'm under her spell.


She's also a ninja to a level past the teaching of her older siblings. My eldest (girl) had some ability to sneak around doing things but generally didn't try too much. If she was in her room doing un-approved crafting (scissors, etc) she'd often have completed a few pictures and one is for you; and it manages to melt your heart. My boy is an exceptional climber bordering on being a spider monkey. (Probably too good because he's fearless about it - at 2 he chipped a tooth jumping off of a bunk bed.) Arms grab & hold in ways not normal for a 5 y/o.

Side story of proof:
Last night there was a legitimate extensive wrestling match over a new toy dino. Allie had the new toy in the house and was going to bed in 20 minutes. Cabu was unhappy with his toy in the possession of someone else despite him watching Jackie Chan (Spy Next Door - not so good) and not playing. He took the toy. We said to give it back for a little bit and were met with firm defiance. The Jackie Chan battle scenes started as fun to get it and became real. He was switching hands, grabbing, kicking, and deflecting me like the clumsy giant I was. This quickly turned into a hard fought battle that I could not lose. And I did not - but I'm "ascared" for the future battles. So back to ninj-allie.

Allie has learned from and surpassed her teachers. She will sneakily be on chairs & tables playing with off-limit toys or pouring salt on the table to draw pictures and lick up. She had quickly learned how to dive off the couch arms onto the couch. If she's out of sight she's probably using her ninja skills. I'm thinking she daily protects our house from the evils of yard gnomes, other toddler ninjas, and neighborhood cats.

A number of times I've been struck speechless by my kids. Probably a muting spell or something. But I'm speechless staring at my kids in awe and fear at the same time. I see the things being done, thought about, said and tried. These kids are incredible. Who am I that this intelligent, wonderful creature is in my care? That all of that innocence and potential in the future should be under my clumsy hands to form? My wife and I are the primary people for molding these miracles into miracle makers? These kids are incredible.

How long until they realize we're making this up as we go and they form a coup and overthrow us. They'll be kind & keep us around just so we can drive them places. But y'know that will only last until they are about 12 & can reach the pedals on their own. Then we'll be locked in the attic, but we'll be together so that's okay. Plus I hid some crayons and a coloring book up there so we don't get bored.

So for today I will enjoy my spellcasting toddler ninja's birthday. There's only a few more of them I will be able to enjoy freely; soon the gifts will turn to tributes. The cake will be a food offering to our rulers. But that's okay too; because I think she will still protect us from yard gnomes, and ninja-ing is hard work and you need some good food to keep going.

-On the Eve of the Vote

"Women have been set free to be Bucchantes. They have been set tree to be virgin martyrs; they have been set free to be witches. Do not ask them now to sink so low as the higher culture." -All Things Considered

"When society is in rather a futile fuss about the subjection of women, will no one say how much every man owes to the tyranny and privilege of women, to the fact that they alone rule education until education becomes futile? For a boy is only sent to be taught at school when it is too late to teach him anything. The real thing has been done already, and thank God it is nearly always done by women. Every man is womanized, merely by being born. They talk of the masculine woman; but every man is a feminized man. And if ever man walk to Westminster to protest against this female privilege, I shall not join their procession."
-Orthodoxy

I've been listening to GK Chesterton stuff for about 2 years. While he is often quotable for snippets or some great and wise word play he is tremendously sound in building upto it. That is one of the most striking things about his work. The quick quotes are capstones upon a well built wall. Rationale defined and assembled brick by brick, and tough to tear down.

After a getting through a few works with "huh, I never thought of that" or "that's a neat point" one concept caught my interest, he was generally opposed to the suffrage movement. He did not like the women's vote or much of the movement.
"Women shouldn't vote."

This seemed a VERY antiquated view. It's hard to believe anybody ever thought like that. Nobody thinks like that anymore.

I find Chesterton to actually be a liberal thinker bounded by the confines of logic and a general following of common sense. I at first tried to solve the maze of how he got to this without seeing the twisted path he took to such an odd conclusion. Odd by todays standards. He was many things but a good critic is one, if he didn't like an idea or culture; there was a reason. It was not from a disregard of women that he opposed the movement.

Chesterton starts by breaking down the role of the vote. Voting is to put a voice to the mob.
Mobs are generally 20 people deciding the guilty person needs punishment. Mobs are beneath women, and so is voting. It wasn't that women were incapable of pulling a lever or filling out a form. Or that that were not smart enough to make a good choice. He'd argue they'd make a better choice. But women hold such an esteemed role and position in society it should not be sullied with voting. Mobs are dirty work, voting is dirty work.

Not that women couldn't think or talk as political leaders either. Women in politics were putting themselves in the only stance where men were not afraid of them; a fighting stance.

Chesterton held women as a beautiful creation of the creator that was worthy of a high seat. Of a throne in society.

"To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area - deciding sales, banquets, labours, and holidays; to be Whiteley within a certain area - providing toys, boots, sheets, cakes, and books; to be Aristotle with a certain area - teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene: I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it." -What's Wrong with the World


It wasn't a matter of making women beneath men, it was a matter of still holding them above men.

Yup. Nobody thinks like that anymore.

Note to self: write notes

On my wall here at work sits a lovely little note my 6 y/o wrote to me:

Our church hands out children's bulletins with little word games, mazes, coloring, or differential equations for the really big kid who is bored. I received this note following a puzzle where all the words were separated by the letter "k". I was assisting Beth on figuring this out and she was sure the word was "a bout" not "about". I had to assist my son to the bathroom and came back to the pew and was handed this note by a cute girl with brows knit in frustration at me. Explaining that it would be "akbout" only produced more brow knitting. This happened about 2 months ago and is still funny today.

Yesterday, we had another episode of father-daughter frustration. The morning started well but turned suddenly upon some life important matter for a 6 y/o of who got to brush their teeth first, or the color of the sky, or who gets which seat in the car. Whatever it was the frustration and attitude was firing on all cylinders. I wish this was unusual for Sunday mornings, but it isn't. There's almost always some member of the squad who is mad that the van has 4 wheels instead of 6. Sometimes me because having 6 wheels would make for a serious swag-wagon. But, that's how I roll.

The 6 y/o's attitude wasn't fixed with the car ride to church. As church started I was getting grunts & growls instead of actual word responses to questions. Some kid's bulletins were being worked on when I was handed this note:

In case you can't decipher - I am not gonna talk to you for a year. To Dad, From Beth.

This vow of silence lasted about 2 minutes, and then there was a much happier child sitting beside me.

When we got home and after the allotted time out for earlier misbehavior I had a nice chat with my daughter.

You were mad and frustrated and grumpy this morning. And you need a good way to let those feelings out. You know hitting would only hurt your hand, hurt someone else or get you in trouble, or both. In church you wrote a note. Did you feel better after writing a note?

-Yes

Well anytime you're mad, or angry, or happy also. You can write a note. You can write a note for any feeling you want and give it to mom & dad. We will gladly read your notes. We will not be angry, you will not get in trouble as long as it is not about killing people.

I think I'll read some Psalms tonight.