Road Trip Part 2: Learning about Laura

When I was a kid, I read and devoured a set of yellow paperback versions of Laura Ignalls Wilder's books (Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, etc.). I still have those well thumbed paperbacks - I think I read some of them multiple times because I enjoyed the simple pleasures of the world they created. As part of my cross country trip, I decided to visit several of the places Laura lived. While some of the museums were hokey, it was cool to see the actual sites of where the events of the books took place. As I traveled, I also listened to the audiobook of the Pulitzer Prize winning biography of Laura: "Prairie Fires" by Caroline Fraser. I learned a lot about Laura's relationship with her daughter Rose. Rose (a writer in her own right) edited and shaped many of the Little House books. I didn't realize that Laura didn't start publishing her books until she was in her 60s! Prairie Fires was interesting listening as I traveled through the actual geography of the places Laura lived and wrote about, I highly recommend it if you are interested in the context of Laura's life.

Statue of Laura in DeSmet, SD

Pepin, Wisconsin

There was a little museum here, which isn't really worth your time (though admittance is only $5). I did enjoy seeing the recreation of "Little House in the Big Woods" - which was literally just at a rest stop at the side of the road and thus free. That is the book I've read most recently. It was also just cool to drive through the countryside, including the swampy area near the river, and imagine Ma and Pa and Mary and Laura in their cabin in the late 1800s.

"Little House In the Big Woods"

Looking Out Over the River near Pepin, WI

Walnut Grove, Minnesota

A store Pa Ignalls helped build in Walnut Grove

This museum actually did have some artifacts from Laura's and the Ignalls Family's life, as well as numerous artifacts of the TV series (I'm not a fan of the TV series - the few episodes I've seen were too corny for me). The museum area also had a recreation of several buildings in Laura's life. While the museum was run down, it would be worth it if you love the TV show, or are just super interested in Laura.

Display showing Laura's books in several languages - they've sold all over the world!

Me, Eating A Plum On the Banks of Plum Creek (and generally being a nerd)

Site of the Dugout on Plum Creek

The highlight of the Minnesota stop was visiting the actual site of the dugout featured in the book "On the Banks of Plum Creek." It was a nice area to walk around in and I don't think it's really much changed since Laura's time - I took a nice walk through a nearby meadow and saw lots of butterflies and wildflowers. 

Plum Creek

De Smet, South Dakota

This the site I probably enjoyed the most from a historical perspective - best tour (given by a high schooler!), and lots of actual historical buildings - the surveyor's house where the Ignalls family lived, the house Ma and Pa retired to, etc. There is also the homestead site outside town where the trees planted by Pa "On the Shores of Silver Lake" still stand.

Surveyor's House, where Ignalls family lived for one winter in De Smet

The House where Ma and Pa "retired" in downtown De Smet

Some of the trees Pa planted "on the banks of Silver Lake"

All the sites are pretty out of the way from everywhere else, but it was still fun to retrace Laura's steps and feel nostalgic about reading the books as a pre-teen/teenager. A nice way to pass the time while crossing the country!

Justice and Jane Austen in the #MeToo Era

There's a line that has been running through my mind from Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice this week. Let me start with some context from the novel. During a conversation where Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth Bennett, Elizabeth accuses Darcy of (among other things) separating her sister Jane from Jane's love interest, Mr. Bingley. Darcy writes her a letter to respond to her charges, stating that he had carefully observed Jane and Bingley together and was convinced Jane wasn't in love, so he did in fact convince Bingley to desert Jane. He writes:

That I was desirous of believing [Jane] indifferent is certain- but I will venture to say that my investigations and decisions are not usually influenced by my hopes or fears. I did not believe her to be indifferent because I wished it;- I believed it on impartial conviction, as truly as I wished it in reason. (emphasis added)

Essentially what Darcy is saying is that his own desire for something to be true did not influence his conclusion that it was true. Except, this is not what happened. His own preconceived notions did influence his perception of reality and caused him to make a grave error of judgement. Jane and Bingley actually are in love, and he has deceived himself into thinking that this is not the case.

What possible relevance could this novel plot point have to today's news? Well, you may have heard a little bit about the man nominated to fill a Supreme Court vacancy, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, and the women who have accused him of sexual assault. On Thursday, one of his accusers, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, testified in a Senate hearing that Kavanaugh assaulted her at some point in the early 1980s [Note 1]. Kavanaugh also testified at this same hearing that this accusation was untrue.

Right now, we find ourselves in a situation where one of these people is lying or mistaken. Both stories cannot be true - either Kavanaugh assaulted Ford, or he did not. While I've been following the news coverage, today was the first day I had a chance to actually watch the opening statements made by both parties.

Now that I have watched the hearings, I feel like I can confidently compare Senate Republicans to Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. Literally one day after the testimony of Ford and Kavanaugh, Senate Republicans chose their side: they chose to believe Kavanaugh over Ford. They have convinced themselves that their desire to believe him did not influence their decision, but I think this is incorrect.

Republicans have railed against Democrats bringing this up too late in the process, to which I say: "so what?" I fully concede that the Democrats have handled this wrong - there are ways that they could have brought this up earlier and still maintained Ford's requested (and deserved) confidentiality. But THAT IS NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT ARGUMENT TO HAVE. To quote Mandy on The West Wing, "You are fighting the wrong fights and you're doing it for the wrong reasons." That process argument is important, but the more important point is: did Kavanaugh sexually assault Ford? By railing against Democrats for being political, you are sidestepping the salient point, which is: who do you believe?

Even this part of the story has parallels to Pride and Prejudice - in the same part of the book, Elizabeth accuses Darcy of further misconduct towards her friend Wickham, but Darcy is actually in the clear - it is Wickham who has wronged him. Similarly, the Republicans could be COMPLETELY right about the Democrats playing politics, but it doesn't absolve them of the responsibility to seriously examine Ford's claims and not just confirm Kavanaugh because they agree with his politics.

Watching the statements today, I can understand Kavanaugh's anger if he is falsely accused. However, we owe it to Ford and sexual assault survivors everywhere to treat claims seriously, even if corroborating evidence isn't available. I found both witnesses compelling and emotional, but I ultimately believe Ford. Some of the reasons, in no particular order:

- Who has more reason to lie? I think that is important to note here. Kavanaugh wants a job as a Supreme Court justice, Ford wanted anonymity and has not sought the spotlight. Kavanaugh has a much greater incentive to be dishonest. Ford does not seem to fit the pattern of those types of people who make false claims of assault. If the Senate does not confirm Kavanaugh, Trump will likely nominate another conservative to replace Kavanaugh who would likely vote similarly. I really don't think Democrats are going to take the Senate - and if they do, I think they should vote on whoever Trump picks (*cough* Merrick Garland *cough*).
- "I went to Yale" does not strike me as a great defense - plenty of people who go to Ivy League colleges are Grade A jerks. I wasn't a fan of Kavanaugh citing this as part of his proof that he would never sexually assault someone. Several of his college friends have stated that he has mischaracterized his drinking habits in college - in other words, he lied. Kavanaugh seemed to me a bit entitled and egotistical (but hey, I assume most powerful people are).
- Ford has told numerous people over the past several years that she was sexually assaulted by a man who became a federal judge. This seems like a really long con on the off chance that Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court.
- Kavanaugh repeatedly referred to statements by friends that "refuted" Ford's testimony. Yet those statements merely provided that those individuals named do not remember the events. I don't recall parties that I attended last week, let alone decades ago. This does not prove or disprove either side.
- Many of my friends have worried that this will start an era where any allegation of sexual assault will completely ruin a man's reputation. I'm going to set aside that this prioritizes men's reputations over women's pain as survivors of sexual assault (which is a HUGE concern for me - I could write a whole 'nother post about it). I simply don't yet see this as a concern. None of these allegations have been brought forward against Neil Gorsuch, confirmed by the Senate just a year and a half ago. No allegations have surfaced against many other politicians and candidates. Instead, statistics suggest that the vast majority of sexual assaults are not reported, simply because women don't think they'll be be believed. President Trump can easily find another conservative who does not have these allegations against them.

These events make me worry about the message sent to survivors of sexual assault - are we saying that if you come forward, we will automatically believe the man? If we find both witnesses credible, how do we decide what to do? In baseball, there is a concept of "tie goes to the runner" - how do we handle this in a sexual assault context? Do we default to always believing the man? Or always believing the woman?

Ultimately, I can't say for certain what happened in 1982. After all, it was before I was born! But based on what I've seen, I think there is enough of a chance that Ford is telling the truth that I don't think we should put Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading through what is, at best, a very lukewarm take on a hot button issue. Tune in next week, when I compare modern politics to Jane Eyre - everybody's got a crazy wife locked in their attic! [Note 2]



Note 1: Throughout, I will be referring to Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh by their last names. I mean no disrespect to either.
Note 2: Kidding. Mostly. Also, "spoilers" if you haven't read Jane Eyre. It's pretty great.

The Woman's Hour

One childhood memory I have is being caught reading multiple times on the same night AFTER lights out. I don't remember what I was reading, but I do remember the secret thrill of re-opening the book, getting out a flashlight, and trying to squeeze out a few more minutes of reading. Adults often say that they don't have time for reading, which is true for me too, but every once in a while, a book comes along and sucks me in - when that happens, I usually have a compulsion to finish the book. At that point, all I can do is enjoy the ride and be grateful for great books.

That happened to me this weekend, when, amidst other things that I *should* have been doing, instead I read all 330 pages of "The Woman's Hour" by Elaine Weiss in less than 24 hours. It's a book about the battle to ratify the 19th Amendment in Tennessee in 1920. Remember, the 19th amendment is the one that "gave" women the vote. That passive phrasing belies the thousands of hours and hundreds of campaigns that women waged in order to get their rights.

Most Americans may learn a little bit about the suffrage movement during their high school American history course. They may learn about Susan B. Anthony and even Elizabeth Cady Stanton. But beyond that, we typically don't spend a lot of time discussing the suffrage movement. This book brings alive the characters and forces that shaped this moment in time. It's a gripping story with a lot of twists and turns - even though I knew the outcome, it kept me engaged right til the bitter end! It talked about the grand strategies and plans, but also had a lot of great details (Get Women the Vote was translated into the colors Green, White, and Violet).

Instead of another Transformers/Avengers/Fast & Furious movie, I started thinking about the fact that this book HAS TO BE MADE INTO A MOVIE. Or even a Netflix multi-episode series. Once I started thinking about that, I started to cast the movie/mini-series in my head. So, without further ado, here is my casting dream team for "The Woman's Hour" movie - if we start filming now, we can get it released during the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment's ratification in 2020!

At the beginning of the story, three women are boarding trains - all headed to Nashville to fight their chosen battle, as Tennessee could be the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment, thus enacting the amendment.

First up, Carrie Chapman Catt, head of the National American Women's Suffrage Association (NAWSA). This is a role that Meryl Streep was born to play, and she MUST DO IT.

Compare Carrie Chapman Catt's photo to Meryl Streep in the movie "Suffragette," and you'll agree this is fate

Our second train passenger is Sue White, a militant suffragette who was part of Alice Paul's radical "Women's Party" and was also a native of Tennessee. For this role, I'm casting Brie Larson - she's got to be tough and smart.

Brie Larsen / Sue White

The third train passenger is Josephine Pearson, head of the Anti-suffrage movement in Tennessee. It may shock you to know that there were many women who were against suffrage, but it's true. One of them was Josephine Pearson, an educator from southern Tennessee, who led the charge in 1920, and was *almost* successful. In my mind, Kathy Lee Bates would play this role with gusto and empathy to Pearson's concerns.

Kathy Lee Bates / Josephine Pearson

These three women converge for a multi-week battle during a hot summer in Tennessee. They are joined by loyal footsoldiers from the suffrage and anti-suffrage movements, including:

- Catherine Kenney, a Catholic redhead who headed the Tennessee Women Voters' ratification committee. I see Amy Adams in this role.
- Anne Dudley, a society woman and mother who made suffrage socially acceptable, to be played by Felicity Jones.
- Betty Gram, who left a Broadway career to become a suffragette (and confronted and publicly shamed politicians who double crossed the movement). Jennifer Laurence can portray her.
- Juno Frankie Pierce, an African American suffrage leader who addressed the first meeting of the Tennessee League of Women Voters in the statehouse. This role is for Octavia Spencer.
- Anita Pollitzer, a veteran political operative who combed the hills of Tennessee to find out politicians' stances and convince them to vote for suffrage. Carey Mulligan would do a good Anita, I think.
- Nina Pickard, President of the Southern Women's Rejection League. Reese Witherspoon is from Alabama, and Nina was too, so this is meant to be.
- Charlotte Rowe, a professional anti-suffrage speaker who spoke out across Tennessee. I would love to see Allison Janney play this role.

These women have to contend with double crossing politicians, wily presidential candidates, journalists eager for sensationalism, and the racist/sexists attitudes of the times. I really like how this book places the fight in the historical context, and draws out the issues swirling around these women. While it focuses on the 1920 fight in Tennessee, the book also lays out the history of the movement, going back to the Seneca Falls Women's Rights convention in 1848. I also like that, while the book obviously talks about the male politicians and journalists, it focuses squarely on the women, and their gumption and determination.

Helen Mirren / Febb Burn

The last character I'll mention is Phoebe (Febb) Burn, who wrote a pivotal letter to her son, the youngest state legislator, urging him to "be a good boy and vote for suffrage." Febb was college educated, and ran the farm after her husband died, while raising her kids. (Spoiler alert) Her son, Harry Burn, the youngest state legislator, ended up casting a deciding vote in the Tennessee House for suffrage. My vote is for Helen Mirren to portray her in the movie. So, Netflix and Movie Studios - it's your move. Make this happen for me!!!!

Couldn't resist casting one of the men in the story - Harry Burns, to be played by Chris Pine

Reflections on Hillbilly Elegy

One of my book clubs decided to read Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance as our March selection. Vance's book is a memoir about his self-described hillbilly upbringing in Kentucky and Ohio with a dysfunctional but (sometimes) loving family. The book has been a New York Times Bestseller and is highly acclaimed by many seeking to understand Trump voters and "Middle America." I finished the book a few days ago, and I've been struggling to articulate what it is I didn't like about it. So, I am doing a blog post to see if I can capture some of the reasons I found it problematic.

To start with, I should say that writing a critique of someone's heartfelt memoir is problematic in and of itself. This book was a well-told story of a painful upbringing, and it was written compassionately about people who otherwise might seem crazy. It would be wrong of me to critique someone's life story - it is Vance's lived experience, and I thought he told his truth well. I know much less about Appalachia than Vance, so it is of course presumptuous of me to criticize Vance's experiences. However, I think the book goes awry when it extrapolates Vance's family's experiences to a culture at large, and proscribes "solutions" that involve people just trying harder.

I should also say that there is much that I liked about the book - Vance does a good job of painting the picture of a kid who is a fish out of water at Yale and in the military. I definitely think there are issues that this book illuminated for me, which I wouldn't have thought about otherwise. But, my "hot take" awaits! Here, in no particular order, are some of the things I didn't enjoy about the book. I've tried to use examples that I remember from the book, but I'm bad at finding and citing them, so I do apologize about that.

Poor People Deserve to Be Poor
While not found on every page, in some of the stories that Vance tells, there is a whiff of Social Darwinism. By that I mean, he often ascribes poverty to people's own poor choices. He describes working in a tile warehouse where a young man who was hired was lazy, took long breaks, and was ultimately fired. Vance uses that story as an example of why hillbilly people ultimately don't deserve to prosper, yet within the same story he also admits that most employees of the company have been there for years, which undercuts his claim that it's hard to find non-lazy employees. I don't think he adequately explains the role of luck, which I think has a lot more to do with our success or failure than we care to admit. 

Welfare Queens
Related to the point above, Vance tells some stories about people who game the welfare system. He's understandably frustrated to see people sell their food stamps so they can buy cigarettes and booze, or who have late model cell phones yet use government assistance. Yet I was annoyed that he used this as a sweeping indictment of the welfare system for everyone. Are there people who misuse welfare? Yes, of course! Is that a reason to dismiss all welfare recipients as undeserving moochers? Of course not! These types of judgments allow us to feel morally superior, but don't have a basis in reality, because most studies show a pretty low level of fraud in the welfare system. Not to mention, most food stamp recipients are getting $1 - $1.25 per meal per person, which is hardly enough to get wealthy on!!!

Us Versus Them
The narrative is often driven by a rhetoric of grievance - "coastal elites" versus "hillbillies." While of course there are many many many differences between those groups, I firmly believe that both groups have selfish and selfless souls. Rather than seeking to unite us, the book seems to push the narrative that the snobby elites can never really understand or empathize with the hillbillies. Nor does it seem to acknowledge that many of the problems affecting hillbillies also impact other marginalized groups (immigrants, African Americans, etc.).

It's Up to Us (the Hillbillies) to Fix It
In one anecdote, Vance derides hillbillies who don't or won't recognize that children's teeth rotting from drinking soda is a problem. This is understandably terrible, but I think he fails to recognize the many ways society contributes to this problem. For example, we subsidize corn, which makes corn syrup, used in many sodas, a cheap ingredient, thus making soda very cheap to buy. Vance finishes his book with a declaration of the inadequacy of government solutions, and a call to each of us to think about what we can do to individually to solve this problem: "These problems were not created by governments or corporations or anyone else. We created them, and only we can fix them" (Page 256). I think that analysis is fundamentally flawed in a lot of ways. It lets me off the hook - since I don't live in Appalachia, there is nothing I am required to do to help my fellow citizens.

I posted earlier this week about "big government" and this is one of those areas where I do believe that government can play a role in addressing systemic poverty. We can adequately fund drug treatment and trial diversion programs. We can address housing inequality, an overworked social worker system, gun violence, lack of educational opportunities, inadequate minimum wage, and other barriers that prevent people from rising above their circumstances. To do this, we have to recognize that we are all in the same boat - this is a problem that affects all of us, and we need to come together to find societal solutions. None of this is easy, but to address these problems we need the recognition that there is a problem, and I do think Vance's book helps explain the scope of the problem on a "micro" level.

Some Links
Here are some links that I thought about while reading, or found while looking up points for this post.
Just How Wrong is Conventional Wisdom About Government Fraud? - From The Atlantic
I Drove my Mercedes to Pick Up Food Stamps - OpEd from Newsday
Who's Missing from College Education? Rural Students - From NPR
Living on Food Stamps - A Twitter Thread about the Realities of Being a Food Stamp Recipient (read the whole thing!)
EITC Promotes Work - Report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on the effectiveness of the "Earned Income Tax Credit"

So, have any of you read Hillbilly Elegy? What are your thoughts? I won't pretend that my opinion is the only one that matters.

Faith

Faith - is the Pierless Bridge
Supporting what We see
Unto the scene that We do not -
Too slender for the eye

It bears the Soul as bold
As it were rocked in Steel
With Arms of Steel at either side -
It joins - behind the Veil

To what, could We presume
The Bridge would cease to be
To our far, vacillating Feet
A first Necessity.
   - Emily Dickinson, 1864

I'm not sure I fully know what this poem means, but I like the idea of faith as a bridge.

Read/Do/Be All the Things!

You've got to admire my consistency: I'm 100% on New Year's Resolutions this year. That is, 100% unsuccessful. Some of them I don't even remember, which is a sure sign they are unfulfilled. I started 2014 with grand plans to "make a difference" and be a better person, and don't feel like I did any of it last year. And yet, I'm planning on making New Year's Resolutions again this year. Call me an eternal optimist, but I have a much better chance of improving myself if I make concrete goals than if I have an ineffable future "aspiration."

Is it a coincidence that I just typed gaol (jail) instead of goal? Sometimes goals can fence us in, but I think they represent a really hopeful view of the future, because a goal posits that we have the ability to change and become better. Goals present us with the vision of what we want to be. There's a fresh start and in a way that's exhilarating. It's much better than being paralyzed by your weaknesses.

Of course, goals are good if they lead us to greater vistas of knowledge and awareness, but they're bad when they become checklists that determine our self-worth if completed. As a wise woman once said: "Goals are stars to steer by, not sticks to beat ourselves with." Put another way, goals aren't actually about goals, they're about what the goals are leading us towards - a better and more abundant life filled with good things.

Lately for some reason I have been thinking of Sisyphus (despite the fact that I don't think I can pronounce his name correctly - hence the thinking and not the saying). Sisyphus, a character in Greek mythology, was doomed to roll a large bolder up a hill and then eternally have that bolder roll back down the hill. Kind of the definition of fruitless and pointless endeavors. Sometimes my New Year's Resolutions seem Sisyphean, especially when I realize that I am eternally rolling the same boulders up the same hills year after year. Yet, maybe that is the point. 

As an example, I usually want to spend more time reading as one of my New Year's resolutions. A few nights ago, I spent about four hours catching up on blog reading - friends' blogs, recipe blogs, Mormon blogs, news blogs, etc. For the most part, I skimmed headlines and first paragraphs, weighing in the balance whether I wanted to read the post, skip it, or save it for later. Inevitably, those posts I did read lead me to other sources and additional items for my reading/listening list. An article about tax policy lead to additional detailed statistics on poverty in America. A post about Christmas books lead to new Christmas music I want to download. Various posts on great women authors lead me to want to read more of their books and poems and life stories. 

I simply want to READ ALL THE THINGS (except maybe Ernest Hemingway), but there isn't time. Even if I devoted every waking moment not spent at work to listening to or reading books and articles, I wouldn't ever "arrive" at the destination of having read everything I want to read. So maybe the goal of reading isn't about finishing, but enjoying the journey - one that includes great literature, poetry, well written news coverage, simple updates on my friends' lives, and re-reading Jane Austen (again). There is so much to enjoy about life, and I need MORE joy, reading, fun, charity, friends, outdoors time, and family in my life in 2015, along with LESS stress, worry, self-pity, selfishness, time spent at the office, and stubbornness.

I love reading because when I read, I start making phenomenal brain connections (some of which connect politics with religion which I then proceed to poorly explain on this blog!). Other goals remind me of my ability to do hard things and help me develop into a better person. And that, dear readers, is why I keep rolling my boulders up my hills - I hope that in the journey I will see some magnificent sights from the hilltop, and develop my (emotional/physical/intellectual/spiritual) muscles. In the journey, is joy: real and tangible and hard-fought, all at the same time.

So, here are (some of) my New Year's Resolutions for 2015.  What are your resolutions?

Spiritual: Study scriptures and pray daily.
Mental: Read at least 12 new books this year.
Physical: Gym time four times a week, and an outdoor nature walk/bike ride at least once a month.
Social: Travel internationally with a friend.

Thievery of Books

As a child in primary (LDS Sunday School for kids) we played some version of the newlywed game.  I have no idea or remembrance of why this was a thing, but I swear it was.  They would ask us questions that they had also asked our parents and see if we answered the same way.  I remember playing it and being asked what my favorite hobby was.  No idea how old I was at the time, but probably 8 or 9.  Having (somewhat) outgrown dolls at this point, my not-very-decisive answer was, "Softball?"  I still remember the adult leading the game responding, "While you're playing softball, apparently you like to...read!"  Yeah didn't get that question right, but on further reflection it's pretty accurate to suggest that reading was my favorite childhood activity.

As an adult I have far less time for free reading than I would like, which makes me sad.  But, I did finally start reading The Book Thief, which numerous people have recommended to me.  I like the way it uses language in unexpected ways.  Its narrator is Death, which is an interesting viewpoint.  Reading a book like that makes me realize that while I enjoy writing, I don't have that gift of language that great writers seem to possess and hone into a beautiful craft.  I love reading a book and being so enchanted or horrified or enthralled in the book world that the author has created that I have no idea of the passage of time.  Tearing myself away from a good book is very hard.  Books seem to steal the time away, like thieves in the night.

While this isn't maybe the best way to introduce the topic, I'm a big fan of public education.  Public education created my love of reading and nourished it into a lifelong hobby.  Tomorrow I'll talk a bit more about my views on public education, but for now, I think I'm going to force myself NOT to read the remaining half of The Book Thief tonight.

Convention

It's sad that it's only the third day of this and I'm already running out of political ideas.  So, Charlotte Bronte, pretty awesome, eh?  Jane Eyre is one of my favorite novels of all time and I recently started re-reading it. This time I read the introductions she wrote for the various editions of the novel.  In one of them, she addresses her critics after thanking those who have assisted her in getting the novel published:

Having thus acknowledged what I owe those who have aided and approved me, I turn to another class; a small one, so far as I know, but not, therefore, to be overlooked. I mean the timorous or carping few who doubt the tendency of such books as “Jane Eyre:” in whose eyes whatever is unusual is wrong; whose ears detect in each protest against bigotry—that parent of crime—an insult to piety, that regent of God on earth. I would suggest to such doubters certain obvious distinctions; I would remind them of certain simple truths.

Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last. To pluck the mask from the face of the Pharisee, is not to lift an impious hand to the Crown of Thorns.

These things and deeds are diametrically opposed: they are as distinct as is vice from virtue. Men too often confound them: they should not be confounded: appearance should not be mistaken for truth; narrow human doctrines, that only tend to elate and magnify a few, should not be substituted for the world-redeeming creed of Christ. There is – I repeat it – a difference; and it is a good, and not a bad action to mark broadly and clearly the line of separation between them.

The world may not like to see these ideas dissevered, for it has been accustomed to blend them; finding it convenient to make external show pass for sterling worth—to let white-washed walls vouch for clean shrines. It may hate him who dares to scrutinise and expose — to rase the gilding, and show base metal under it — to penetrate the sepulchre, and reveal charnel relics: but hate as it will, it is indebted to him.

I just liked this thought - that conventionality is not religion, and we should not mistake it as such.

A fun flirting scene from a recent adaptation of Jane Eyre:

Jane Eyre, 2006 Version, Money Matters & Flirting

Gimme Some Darkness

One of the things I love about Mormonism is that it encompasses all truth.  I think there is much good and truth to be found all over the world.  I love it when I read something that expresses a truth in "non-Mormon" terminology - in other words, in a way I haven't thought of before.  I recently heard the following quote by John Taylor, the third President of the Mormon church, in speaking of medieval times:

"I have a great many misgivings about the intelligence that men boast so much of in this enlightened day. There were men in those dark ages who could commune with God, and who, by the power of faith, could draw aside the curtain of eternity and gaze upon the invisible world. There were men who could tell the destiny of the human family, and the events which would transpire throughout every subsequent period of time until the final winding-up scene. There were men who could gaze upon the face of God, have the ministering of angels, and unfold the future destinies of the world. If those were dark ages I pray God to give me a little darkness, and deliver me from the light and intelligence that prevail in our day; for as a rational, intelligent, immortal being who has to do with time and eternity, I consider it one of the greatest acquirements for men to become acquainted with their God and with their future destiny."  (The Knowledge of God and Mode of Worshiping Him, Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Sept. 7, 1873.  Reported by David W. Evans.  Emphasis added)

I like the thought there was a lot of light in the "dark ages."  I was reminded of this when I read the following passage in "Dracula," by Bram Stoker.  It's spoken by Van Helsing, one of my favorite characters in the book.

"I heard once of an American who so defined faith: "that which enables us to believe things which we know to be untrue."  For one, I follow that man.  He meant that we shall have an open mind, and not let a little bit of truth check the rush of a big truth, like a small rock does a railway truck.  We get the small truth first.  Good!  We keep him, and we value him; but all the same we must not let him think himself all the truth in the universe."

I thought this was an interesting way of thinking about truth - a way to let our minds be open to all truths, and not let what we know prevent us from accepting bigger and more important truths.  This is why I love books - its ability to create worlds that are real and speak truths in unique ways.

Music can also speak truths, and while the song below has really nothing to do with this post, I'm including it anyway.

"Gimme Some Lovin," Steve Winwood

Recommended Reading

You know, because I am too lazy for an actual post - here are some things I found interesting over the past couple days:

Steven Pearlstein of The Washington Post asks: Is Capitalism Moral?  (Reminds me of this blog post of the good old days)

The Good Folks at the Tax Policy Center talk about Corporate Welfare.

An awesome Mormon blog tackles faith and not having all the answers.

And, I'mma let you finish, but Google Reader was the best of all time, and this was a great tribute piece.  I shall miss Google Reader!

Finally, this is why I like Pinterest:


I realize it makes me a terrible person, but I don't like talking to people.

Hanging Out in Heaven

One of the book clubs I'm in is doing a poetry night where everyone shares their favorite poem.  I don't often read poetry, so I found myself reaching back to my favorite English class in high school, which was my senior year class.  Two of my good friends were in the class with me and we read some really stellar literature, but what made the class truly great was the teacher, Mrs. LC.  Mrs. LC loved reading, and she was able to convey that to her students and inspire in them the same love.  She also tried to make us better writers and better interpreters of what we read.

Interpretation is the part of reading poetry that has always been difficult for me.  I often feel like I just don't "get it" and am not smart enough to interpret poetry.  I enjoy it once someone explains it to me but I am not quick enough on the uptake to grasp its meaning intrinsically.  However, when we read the poem below in Mrs. LC's class, I immediately loved it.  I think it is because I generally like Emily Dickinson and this is a fun poem about her.  So, without further ado, here is the poem (which didn't make it to book club, as I shared this poem instead).

“Emily Dickinson and Elvis Presley in Heaven”
Hans Ostrom

They call each other E. Elvis picks
wildflowers near the river and brings
them to Emily. She explains half-rhymes to him.

In heaven Emily wears her hair long, sports
Levis and western blouses with rhinestones.
Elvis is lean again, wears baggy trousers

and T-shirts, a letterman's jacket from Tupelo High.
They take long walks and often hold hands.
She prefers they remain just friends. Forever.

Emily's poems now contain naugahyde, Cadillacs,
Electricity, jets, TV, Little Richard and Richard
Nixon. The rock-a-billy rhythm makes her smile.

Elvis likes himself with style. This afternoon
he will play guitar and sing "I Taste a Liquor
Never Brewed" to the tune of "Love Me Tender."

Emily will clap and harmonize. Alone
in their cabins later, they'll listen to the river
and nap. They will not think of Amherst

or Las Vegas. They know why God made them
roommates. It's because America
was their hometown. It's because

God is a thing
without feathers. It's because
God wears blue suede shoes.

Drive

I just finished reading "Drive," a book by Daniel H. Pink about what motivates us.  He argues that we are motivated less by extrinsic rewards (carrots and sticks) and more by intrinsic rewards (the joy/learning of certain tasks).  Sadly, when I took Pink's online quiz to determine what motivates me, I lean more towards the extrinsic rewards end of the spectrum.  Is this a bad thing?  Maybe.  Or maybe it is simply a function of what industry I work in.  It's not like working as a tax accountant encourages creativity all the time ("creative accounting" is generally a pejorative term).

So very true.  Motivation is a lot more than a slogan or poster.

But I think what I took away from the book is that we can have two baseline assumptions about people: (1) we can either assume people are lazy bums who will not work unless we micromanage them (call this "The Older Sister" mindset) or (2) we can assume that people desire to work hard and enjoy the fruits of their labors.  This assumption about people changes how we treat them.

It's interesting that Mormonism combines these two views of people.  Mormons believe we can be motivated by what's called "carnal" desires or "the natural man" - the desire to be lazy, selfish, mean, and terrible.  Or we can be motivated by our "divine nature" to acquire the attributes of God - kindness, love, selflessness, and goodness.  I think what the book and Mormonism have in common is the belief that we can choose which assumption we tap into.  We can decide to view people as vile or virtuous.  But the truth is rarely "all-or-nothing" - sometimes I am motivated by carrots/sticks (i.e. I pay my credit card bill on time because I don't want to pay the late fee/interest) and sometimes I am motivated by a higher purpose (I volunteer because I want to help people).

This is expressed well, as always, by Shel Silverstein.  As the poet once said:
I asked the Zebra,
are you black with white stripes?
Or white with black stripes?
And the zebra asked me,
Are you good with bad habits?
Or are you bad with good habits?
Are you noisy with quiet times?
Or are you quiet with noisy times?
Are you happy with some sad days?
Or are you sad with some happy days?
Are you neat with some sloppy ways?
Or are you sloppy with some neat ways?
And on and on and on and on and on and on he went.
I’ll never ask a zebra about stripes...again.

Are we good with bad parts or bad with good parts?  A little bit of both, I think.  What do you think motivates or drives you?

Now that I've finished the book I "have" to read, I'm going to spend the rest of the day reading Jane Austen fan-fiction.

Jane Knows All

The Re-Read

For some reason, I really love to re-read my favorite books rather than branching out and trying new ones.  Admittedly, this does mean that sometimes my favorite books get a little old.  I have probably read "Anne of Green Gables" at least ten times, and close to that for Pride and Prejudice.  There is something so comforting about sitting down with your favorite book or books.  I love re-reading Harry Potter, for example, because of all the fun quirky side stories and little beautiful details I forget about.  Re-reading a classic like Jane Eyre is fun because I love the writing and the story line is unconventional.

Girl Reading by a Waterfall by Maria Konstantinovna Bashkirtseva

The problem with re-reading, however, is that I miss out on so many other great books.  At the moment, I am in a "reading rut" and need some new material (having already re-read all of Harry Potter, Anne of Green Gables, and several other favorites within the past year).  So, dear reader, please suggest some reading material in the comments.  I need me some good reads!

Simple vs. Easy

Recently, one of my co-workers chose this book for our book club book:


If you can't read the title, it is: "This is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude & More. For Young and Old Alike."

As you might (or might not) guess from the title, the book is a self-help book which makes fun of self-help books while at the same time offering some good advice.  Fair warning before you take up this book: if you have a problem with swearing or really blunt advice, this book is not for you.

One thing that stuck out to me from reading it (I truly enjoyed it!) was a quote by Mr. Burroughs, the author: "It's simple, but it's not easy."  He used this as example of how a principle or piece of advice can be simply expressed but devilishly difficult to follow.  How true that is.  Faith is a simple principle, but it's not easy to believe.

Still, if all else fails, remember this:



And if you don't get that, you really should read Harry Potter.

Joy in the Journey

One of my favorite poems from my senior year English class is "Ithaca" by K.P. Kavafis.  Here it is, in case you haven't read it:

Ithaca

When you start on your journey to Ithaca,
then pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
Do not fear the Lestrygonians
and the Cyclopes and the angry Poseidon.
You will never meet such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your body and your spirit.
You will never meet the Lestrygonians,
the Cyclopes and the fierce Poseidon,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not raise them up before you.

Then pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many,
that you will enter ports seen for the first time
with such pleasure, with such joy!
Stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and corals, amber and ebony,
and pleasurable perfumes of all kinds,
buy as many pleasurable perfumes as you can;
visit hosts of Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from those who have knowledge.

Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for long years;
and even to anchor at the isle when you are old,
rich with all that you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have taken the road.
But she has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not defrauded you.
With the great wisdom you have gained, with so much experience,
you must surely have understood by then what Ithacas mean.

-K. P. Kavafis (C. P. Cavafy), translation by Rae Dalven

I like this poem because it reminds me to find joy in the journey.  I am a very destination-centric person.  If I have not arrived at my goal, I have failed.  Instead, I need to look more at what I have learned and enjoyed along the way.  Goals like Ithacas can be illusory and rob us of the many simple pleasures of travel through life.  Some days when I set sail on on the sea, I feel like repeating that old saying "O God, thy sea is so great,  and my boat is so small."  But I need to remember the beautiful vistas, the lovely people, and rich experiences that I gain by setting sail.

What do "Ithacas" mean to you?

Here's a funky random video of this poem read by Sean Connery himself (in a slightly different translation):

To Dream The Impossible Dream

Each of us has dreams - unfulfilled wishes and hopes for the future.  So here's my inspirational thought today: keep dreaming that "impossible dream"!



Hold Fast to Your Dreams
Hold fast your dreams!
Within your heart
Keep one still, secret spot
Where dreams may go,
And, sheltered so,
May thrive and grow
Where doubt and fear are not.
O keep a place apart,
Within your heart,
For little dreams to go!

Think still of lovely things that are not true.
Let wish and magic work at will in you.
Be sometimes blind to sorrow. Make believe!
Forget the calm that lies
In disillusioned eyes.
Though we all know that we must die,
Yes you and I
May walk like gods and be
Even now at home in immortality.

We see so many ugly things—
Deceits and wrongs and quarrelings;
We know, alas we know
How quickly fade
The color in the west,
The bloom upon the flower,
The bloom upon the breast
And youth's blind hour.
Yet keep within your heart
A place apart
Where little dreams may go,
May thrive and grow.
Hold fast—hold fast your dreams!

- Louise Driscoll

Books are Mightier than the Sword

The days of giving continue!  I'd like to feature a charity that advances a cause near and dear to my heart: childhood literacy.  First Book is a charity which provides books to children in poor communities.  I have blogged about it before here.  Here's a link to their website:

http://www.firstbook.org/

You should support them - literacy is a very important gift!

A Christmas Carol!

Tonight some friends invited me over to read "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens - we read an entire play version and it was a really fun experience.  Actually, the sad part is that I kind of identify with Scrooge.

Here is how Dickens describes Scrooge's manners toward others:
"Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, 'My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come to see me?' No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge. Even the blind men's dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though they said, 'No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!' But what did Scrooge care? It was the very thing he liked. To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the knowing ones call 'nuts' to Scrooge."
Generally I like to "edge my way along the crowded paths of life."  When in a large group of people, the deep introverted person inside me wants to edge along the wall and out the door, or fall through the floor.  I tend to overcompensate for this by being incredibly awkward, so hopefully I'm not as misanthropic about it as Scrooge, but I can empathize with the desire to "warn all human sympathy to keep its distance."  I like being alone.

Here's another quote that ties in with the "light" theme.  The words are from the ghost of Jacob Marley:
"At this time of the rolling year...I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me?"
For me it is easy to walk with my head turned down - I kind of prefer it.  It takes courage to ask for inspiration to know which "poor abode" we should visit to help.  It takes even more courage to actually do it - to raise people to the blessed Star.  But that is a marvelous light to follow - and we should look up and be inspired by it!

Here's a great hymn about the wise men (although it does have perhaps the strangest lyric ever about Christ, calling him the "wondrous little stranger"!)


P.S.  You can (and should!) read the whole text of A Christmas Carol here.

Words of Light

Isn't funny that, when you are thinking about a topic, you start to see it everywhere?  Such is light!

I like this poem by the Persian poet Rumi (of the 13th Century!!!).  I found a couple of translations online, and since I doubt any of my readers understand Persian, I thought I'd pick my favorite English translation.

There is a candle in your heart,
ready to be kindled.
There is a void in your soul,
ready to be filled.
You feel it, don't you?
You feel the separation
from the Beloved.
Invite Him to fill you up,
embrace the fire.
Remind those who tell you otherwise that
Love
comes to you of its own accord,
and the yearning for it
cannot be learned in any school.

(From Hush Don't Say Anything to God: Passionate Poems of Rumi, translated by Sharam Shiva)

One of the things I love about poetry is that everyone can interpret it differently.  What do you get from this poem?

Here's a funky youtube video with the words of the poem and random images:

Tell all the Truth

One of the things I'm learning as I study light in the scriptures is that light is often used as a metaphor for truth.  More on that another day, for now, here's a poem by Emily Dickinson about light and truth:

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant -
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise
As lightening to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind --

Do you think that's true?  Do we need to be eased into truth so that it won't blind us?  Or can we adjust to handle it once it's granted to us suddenly?


Random note: If I was a writer, I would love to write a book comparing and contrasting Eliza R. Snow and Emily Dickinson - both born in Massachusetts and both became poetesses.  Unfortunately we accountants don't have much writing ability!