Obama and I

The President and I have something in common it turns out. We both prefer the same Girl Scout cookie. My preference hasn't shifted since I was a tot. Doubtless the fact that it is the most popular brand has nothing to do with his choice.

And it's good to see Politico weighing in on the heavier issues.

As an FYI, if there is a Publix in your area the store brand mint chocolate cookies are an excellent stand in for the Girl Scout variety and much, much cheaper.

The Manliness of Minivans

James Joyner asks "Can a real man drive a minivan?" and rightly answers that masculinity has nothing to do with possessions. Manliness has to do with responsibility first and foremost.

Which brings up a good point. All too often I hear adolescents equate their self worth with the stuff they own. As we get older most of us figure out just how shallow that is. But I know adults that still derive part of their identity from their possessions. You may tell how sensitive and caring they are by the high percentage of recyclable materials they wear or because their new ride is a hybrid. An aging man may buy a fancy sports car to prop up his self esteem. An aging woman indulges in plastic surgery to prove to herself that she still has it.

I'm conflicted because I'm a huge fan of capitalism. But I am not a fan of its evil twin materialism. The free market has been and remains the single best way to distribute goods and services. Materialism is in its essence the worship of Mammon.

Classic theology tells us that there are no unmixed blessings in this mortal coil. Where there is love, jealousy and envy follow. Where there is honesty, pride and stubbornness accompany. Our villains have great virtues and our heroes have hidden vices. So the question isn't whether the free market is bad (it isn't). The question is how do we wean ourselves away from the desire of material possessions?

The failure to decouple the one from the other is a historical failure of the Church writ large in recent decades by the ubiquity of marxist thought. It is this failure that has resulted in great damage done by the modern church. More on that later.

How Many Steps?

Hills of the North has much to say about being an Episcopalian. Hie thee hence!

My Little Weakness

I placed another book order with Amazon early this morning. I ordered "The Religion of Money: Dialogues in Economic Controversy", just because it looked interesting. I had to get the "Legend of Colton H Bryant" because it is by one of the best of the current crop of writers, Alexandra Fuller. And "Decline and Fall: Europe's Slow Motion Suicide" and "Cry Wolf: A Political Fable" were just calling to me.

But I'm not an addict. I can quit at anytime.....