Learning from the fall of Rome

A few nights ago BC, his sister and I ate out at a local pizza restaurant. We had leftovers, and as we filled the box with our slices someone pointed out that we should take the rolls, too. We laughed as we compared ourselves with my grandma, who would not only take the rolls, but the crackers and probably the creamer as well.

My grandma grew up at a time when wasting food wasn't just irresponsible, it was not an option. I've never known that form of want, but what about the next generation, and the one after that?

Saving leftover dinner rolls might not be the height of fiscal responsibility. But re-evaluating the mindset of present-tense living with long-term forecasting is probably something I need to re-learn.

It was also one theme in a recent report by my boss , who compared America today with the decline of Rome.

According to Comptroller General David Walker, "the Roman empire lasted 1,000 years, but only about half that time as a republic. The Roman Republic fell for many reasons, but three reasons are worth remembering: declining moral values and political civility at home, an overconfident and overextended military in foreign lands, and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government. Sound familiar?"

He also said:

"In many respects, our quality of life has never been better. We're living longer, we're better educated, and we're more likely to own our own homes. But as many of you already know from your own families, we also face a range of quality-of-life concerns. These include poor public schools, gridlocked city streets, inadequate health care coverage...."

Starting next week I'll begin work for the GAO. According to Walker, my job will be in part to "take steps to ensure the American Republic is the first to stand the test of time." This means not only cutting budgets and identifying areas of government at high risk of "waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement," but addressing a long-term focus for fiscal responsibility in government spending.

It is, after all, the baby sleeping on my lap who will grow up in the America that Walker says is "in decline."

I suppose I better start with myself. Whether that means adding creamer to the box with the rolls or adopting a much more conservative family budget, I need to be thinking of Hada's children's children's lives, not just mine....

On top of my game

For those of you I've talked to recently on the phone while driving with one hand behind the seat holding the pacifier while "listening" to you and saying, "uh huh, yeah," and trying to focus on the coversation and the crying baby and the D.C. drivers on the THAT'S MY EXIT road.... I'm sorry.

Motherhood: should require a Ph.D.

-EC

Gov. Romney Interview With Jan Mickelson

As the Iowa straw poll looms tomorrow, BC and I have been discussing certain characteristics of Mitt Romney that we find interesting, and well, kind of creepy. His performance in several debates is eerily reminiscent of scenes from The Manchurian Candidate. David Brooks of the NYT said today, "I suspect the Romney campaign would do even better if it let the real Mitt Romney out to play." But according to Mitt, the "real" Romney must stay indoors, because, he says, "a candidate for president of the United States must always be 'on.'"
Does this mean that the "real" Romney has to stay "off" in order to win voters?
This video has been circulating as an example of a rare unplugged Mitt moment. The content of the exchange regards Romney's Mormonism.
Watch the clip. What do you think: When it comes to his Mormon faith, how should Mitt Romney "play?" And could it, indeed, should it have an effect on his candidacy for President?

-EC

Wrapped around whose finger?

Hadassah is officially smiling now. She's coy, though, and she makes you work for it.

Excuse me, she says. I'd like to be fed, burped, rocked, changed, swung around in circles, serenaded in an alto, read to from periodicals, strollered beneath tree shadows... okay, NOW if you pinch my cheeks one more time with that goofy high voice...

And her mouth widens into the biggest grin you've ever seen.

Energy is suddenly not an issue.

Another round, Hada!

-EC

God v. Country?

In the past, I've been frustrated with conservative critics who disparage Muslims' ability to assimilate into the United States. From their own interpretation of the Koran and the theology of Islam, these critics determine that Muslims cannot possibly be loyal Americans, because their ultimate allegiance is to Allah and Mecca (never mind that there is virtually no religious hierarchy in Mecca, or most anywhere else). Many of these conservative critics would also claim Christianity as their religion of choice, or at least a familiar American version of it.

So why am I frustrated? People who criticize Muslims for proclaiming ultimate allegiance to Allah over the State need to ask themselves a simple question: "Am I a Christian?" If the answer to that question is "yes," then at the end of the day, it is implied in the very nature of being Christian that your ultimate allegiance is to the God of the Old and New Testament, the One Triune God of Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- not to the United States.

If this sounds shocking (I can hear the shouts of "theocracy!" now), I suggest you ask yourself if you are serious about your allegiance to God (that's a hard statement, and I feel some conviction coming on). After all, any country, even the most righteous, will deviate from God's will from time to time. True, these two allegiances are most likely rarely mutually exclusive. Indeed, our goal as Christians is to bring the two into as close of alignment as possible (i.e. the will of God and the actions of America, in all of its many spheres of life).

To illustrate the point, I like to pose this plausible hypothetical: The scene is 60 years into the future. The U.S. has drifted into a thoroughly secular, anti-Christian culture. This secular, anti-Christian culture is pervasive in society, making the America of the early 21st century look like a Great Awakening. Christians are an increasingly persecuted minority -- churches must register with the federal government if they want to worship freely, and all sermons and readings must be cleared by bureaucrats in Washington. The soft persecution of the 2020s is rapidly developing into overt and state-sanctioned suppression of American Christians. Our children and grandchildren are feeling the brunt of Washington's heavy hand.

As America becomes godless, China booms with Holy Spirit-fueled fervor. The Communist Party crumbles under the weight of 1 billion Chinese Christians, whose decades of peaceful protests culminate in assuming seats in a newly elected democratic government in Beijing. China is the largest Christian nation on earth, and its economic and military power are preeminent.

Enter Taiwan, which the U.S. has for decades sworn to defend against any Chinese aggression. Taiwan, unlike the Great Dragon to the north, has gone the way of Europe and North America -- toward a godless, secular culture hostile to Christians in particular. After a few years of China attempting to exert greater control over Taiwan, the Taiwanese army decides to pick a fight, knowing it has Uncle Sam at its back. War commences between Christian China and atheist America.

Who do you want to win this war? Are you a patriot, or a Christian?

All this to introduce one of the most intriguing columns yet by anonymous Spengler:

"Christianity Finds its Fulcrum in Asia."

Read it twice.

BC

Water Buffalo and their Children

Absolutely unbelievable video here from a safari in Africa...watch for Water Buffalo, Lions and Crocodiles...yes, they're all there, and they're all fighting for a little baby water buffalo.

BC