Welcome to The Square Inch, a Friday newsletter on Christianity, culture, and all of the many-varied “square inches” of God’s domain. This is a paid subscription feature with a preview before hitting the paywall. Please consider subscribing to enjoy this weekly missive along with an occasional “Off The Shelf” feature about books, a frequent Pipe & Dram feature of little monologues/conversations in my study, and Wednesday’s “The Quarter Inch,” a quick(er) commentary on current events.
Dear Friends,
It is a bleak mid-winter.
The cold spell that hit us last week (lows of 35-below, highs of somewhere around 10-below) is stubbornly sticking around. And it’s been quite breezy, too, making the wind chill intolerable. There is a warm front coming, but every time I look at my weather app it keeps getting pushed out further and further. I try not to leave my house as a general rule, but I’m reaching peak hermit these days.
On the bright side, the girls and I have set a record, having band rehearsals late into the night every single day this week. And one of our songs, “Hi-Line,” involves exactly this kind of weather. Here’s the first verse and chorus, and while it’s better with the music, it is a really nice poem all on its own.
It is not just the weather that is bleak, as you can tell from this week’s Quarter Inch. The political scene is a complete—I was going to write “dumpster fire,” but that doesn’t match with “bleak.” The political scene is a freezing, windswept, post-apocalyptic wasteland, for reasons I have adduced. A “Montana Hi-Line in winter” kind of landscape.
The geopolitical scene is spiraling out of control and beyond our influence: amazingly, the southern border crisis has not been solved by President Biden saying, “It’s not a crisis”; Houthi rebels are blocking the Red Sea and the Suez Canal; Iran is launching missiles in all directions with impunity (Iraq, Syria); and now Iran and Pakistan (a nuclear state) are now literally launching missiles at each other. And Taiwan is politely (casting a sidelong glance at the menace on the mainland) wanting to know when the military ordnance they ordered years ago is going to be manufactured, much less delivered. Ecuador is on the precipice of complete civil breakdown of law and order. Remember that hilarious CNN bit where the reporter is standing at a George Floyd riot surrounded by burning vehicles? The chyron read “Fiery, But Mostly Peaceful Protest.” Now just imagine Joe Biden is the reporter standing in front of the world stage: “It might be fiery, but it’s mostly peaceful!”
Jim Geraghty made a point about this uptick in conflict around the world. It seems like the Biden Administration’s number one priority is to “not escalate” conflicts. True, the U.S. has now belatedly launched five attacks against Houthi targets, but given that it has taken five (and counting) it hasn’t been muscular enough. When you are afraid to take decisive action for fear of escalating, everyone else in the world knows that you are afraid to take decisive action for fear of escalating, and therefore you are simply giving them permission escalate away. It’s called appeasement. You get more of what you subsidize, and when the world’s number one superpower stops being an enforcer of international norms like, say, protecting global trade routes, you’re going to get more of this kind of thing. Peace through strength is a real thing, and the Pax Americana seems to be unraveling before our eyes.
Anyway, since it is a bleak mid-winter, let’s try to cheer up and have a little fun today.
Last week I launched a new feature, Pipe & Dram, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the first couple of issues as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. And I trust you can see the reason for creating that space: it’s for a niche audience. But I’ve been delighted that the comment section has come alive in there! I’ve got more than a few readers who want the nerdy stuff! I’ve already got a couple more of our “visits” prepared for the coming weeks, so you can look forward to that.
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