Let's Not Talk About The Election
No. 30: October 30, 2020
Dear Friends,
I posted this little bit of praise and public service announcement on Twitter this week:
Praise because the memory of a six-year-old always amazes me. I mean, months went by since seeing that little clip of an octopus, and for some reason she just remembered that she wanted to see that movie. So we watched My Octopus Teacher together, and I really do recommend it to you as one of the most beautifully filmed nature documentaries I’ve ever seen. I am in awe of the octopus. What a creature!
Of course, immediately after posting that Tweet, I got a response. Yes, this response is to my Tweet about an octopus documentary:
Won’t you be glad when this election season is over? Me too.
I am pleasantly surprised by the reaction to my missive last week talking about the elections. I expected some cancelations, but I actually picked up a few subscriptions. And it was the most-read Square Inch in its brief history. I’m grateful that so many of you read it and found it helpful. And I do read and appreciate all of your feedback, even if I don’t reply.
At the end of the day, I am not trying to strike the snooty “above it all” pose; I really do care about the founding principles and the direction of our country and I will continue well into the future to advocate for genuine, principled conservatism. But masses of people, like the random Twitter guy above, seem to believe that the battle for the soul of America is going to end next Tuesday, one way or another. This is incredibly unhealthy, mentally and spiritually. Next Wednesday, whatever the result, we will all carry on arguing and debating the exact same set of issues that have divided America for decades.
This morning Erick Erickson (in a very angry, “Get Off My Lawn” essay) expressed what my concern is:
When your guy loses on Tuesday, whoever that is, you’re going to curl up in the fetal position and believe the United States is over and everyone who voted against your guy is terrible. It won’t be true, but you will believe it because you’ve sought salvation in a ballot box and twisted your soul to fit in there.
That is a lively, bipartisan way of getting at the bottom of my newsletter last week. We are going to be fine. God reigns. Your vote is not a sacrament, and the U.S. Presidential Election is not an apocalyptic End Times event, even though lots of people have financial and political incentives to make you think so. Don’t be a cheap date for them. Vote your conscience by deciding for yourself the least bad option among (as I see it) nothing but bad options, pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,” and then keep calm and carry on with your life.
Recover what it’s like to watch a beautiful documentary without wondering how it relates to who occupies an office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Like a sane person.
Let’s Not Talk About The Election
I’ve written and said everything I have to write and say about politics until after the election. I will just watch the wild and crazy thing like everyone else, and won’t have any “hot takes.” So let’s talk about other things. Sorry if it all seems random, but you might find some of it interesting.
McDonald’s announced today that they are bringing back the McRib sandwich for a limited time. I’m a big McDonald’s fan, as most of you probably know, but I’m also a creature of habit and never order anything other than the McDouble. Anyway, the announcement today has produced much rejoicing and also much sneering by McDonald’s haters. It reminded me of this video:
A guy Tweeted a photo of a frozen McRib and announced that it looked horrible and couldn’t possibly be real food. So McDonald’s brought him out to their production facility and walked him through the whole process. You know what’s in a McRib? 100% pure, delicious pork, seasoning, and a few preservatives to keep it fresh en route to McDonalds locations. The guy left impressed. It’s good food, so don’t knock it.
In other welcome news, Chess Grandmaster Wesley So has won his second U.S. Chess Championship. Wesley is a godly Christian young man who is very outspoken about his faith in an at-times hostile work environment. (Which is weird, because the game of chess ought to lead you to consider God). I had the delight of recognizing him a few years ago in the Minneapolis airport (yes, I am such a nerd), and you know what happened right after that? He became and has remained a top-ten player. Coincidence? You decide.
Anyway, Wesley has struggled a bit in the last couple of years, and I’m delighted to see that he’s getting his mojo back. I hope someday he can challenge Magnus Carlsen for the world title—a Herculean task, since Carlsen doesn’t show any signs yet of actually being human.
Speaking of chess, the number one show on Netflix right now is The Queen’s Gambit.
I’m not finished with it yet, but I’ll give you a few warnings and observations. This series is dark. It is for mature audiences—no outright nudity or explicit sexual content, but there is a lot of tragedy, drug abuse, addiction, and a heartbreaking sense of aimlessness. I’m not even sure this series will have a happy ending; I feel like I’m being set up for tragedy.
The filming is astounding, and the chess, along with the re-creation of the chess world of the 1960s, seems flawless. I hear rumors that the filmmakers involved the legendary Garry Kasparov to help them make it all authentic, and that turned out fabulously. Whatever else the film accomplishes, it will definitely increase the popularity of what is possibly the greatest game ever devised—the only other contender being, of course, baseball.
And, no, I don’t really play chess. I mean, I can, and sometimes do, but I get more pleasure out of watching great chess players. Like I say, no one is taking away my “Nerd” card any time soon.
Tomorrow is Halloween, and people in my little tribe like to argue about whether Christians should celebrate it. Here’s a classic essay on the topic, if it is a question that interests you. This video/poem is even better:
On a more personal note, the premature blizzard that dropped 20 inches of snow on us has gone away, the snow is rapidly melting, and it looks like we might actually get a couple of weeks of fall now. I’m glad for the weather breaking because I need to swap out the water pump on my Yukon, and that will be much easier if it isn’t freezing outside.
Next Friday I’m off to San Francisco for our annual private event, the CCL Symposium, where I look forward to seeing my pals and brothers-in-arms, Andrew Sandlin, Jeff Ventrella, and David Bahnsen. Alongside them, I’ll be speaking on social justice and cultural Marxism. The following week I will be in Philadelphia, where, among other things, I’m invited to preach a chapel address at Westminster Theological Seminary. That one might be live-streamed, and if so I will be sure to get you a link.
I’ll close it out this week with one of my own songs: “Spotlight.” Every day the curtain rises and you get to have a speaking part! Use it wisely.
appreciated the song as well as all the word. Thanks for contributing to my (and others') lives this way, brother.
Outstanding, Brian.