« January 2006 | Main | March 2006 »

February 21, 2006

Crunchy Conservatives

Rod Dreher's book, Crunchy Cons, has hit the market today, and I've already placed my order. The National Review has started a blog for Dreher and other folks (both crunchy and non) to debate the issues raised in the book. One notable contributor will be Pantagruelist Caleb Stegall.

Dreher has also included a crunchy manifesto on the site as well. I think it's well worth repeating here:


1. We are conservatives who stand outside the conservative mainstream; therefore, we can see things that matter more clearly.

2. Modern conservatism has become too focused on money, power, and the accumulation of stuff, and insufficiently concerned with the content of our individual and social character.

3. Big business deserves as much skepticism as big government.

4. Culture is more important than politics and economics.

5. A conservatism that does not practice restraint, humility, and good stewardship—especially of the natural world—is not fundamentally conservative.

6. Small, Local, Old, and Particular are almost always better than Big, Global, New, and Abstract.

7. Beauty is more important than efficiency.

8. The relentlessness of media-driven pop culture deadens our senses to authentic truth, beauty, and wisdom.

9. We share Russell Kirk’s conviction that “the institution most essential to conserve is the family.”

10. Politics and economics won’t save us; if our culture is to be saved at all, it will be by faithfully living by the Permanent Things, conserving these ancient moral truths in the choices we make in our everyday lives.

February 19, 2006

Being That Parent

Parenthood is fraught with mistakes. No mother or father would claim to have all the answers, and many would claim to know none of the answers. As much as a child lives and learns, a parent does as well. But there are moments when the mistakes come at times when it seems no one but perhaps the drunkard or the utterly self-absorbed could make the wrong decision.

Except you do. You are waiting to get your hair cut, chatting with folks, showing off pictures of the new addition. You are the proud parent. You once thought these moments were real only in movies and television shows. Then someone hands you a telephone.

"Where is the baby?!?!"

Our memory often fails us. We can't remember our PIN numbers, our parents' birthdays, or the due dates on our bills. But in this moment, in half a second, everything is crystal clear.

You forgot to take your son out of the car at your in-laws. He is sitting in the car, in his car seat, just outside the door of the hair salon (at this point, you quickly note to yourself that you did remember to remove a few things from the trunk of the car when you got there--but not your son). You have become that parent, the one you only read about in the newspaper, who left their child in the car, with the engine running, and the doors open. In two and half years, you have tried to be the good parent, understanding your children, learning from your missteps. You think you suceed at least some of the time.

Then you do this.

"You only read about people like this," someone says, as you hastily gather your things.

And then you came along.

Of course, the baby is sleeping blissfully in the cocoon of his car seat, swaddled in fleece. This is of little consolation to you though. You have crossed that line, albeit quickly. The parenting books don't have a chapter on "remembering you have an infant," most likely because the average parent doesn't need a primer. You, on the other hand...

In the end, it's ok. Live and learn. You have added an item to your mental checklist--remember the kids. You won't let this happen again. And you hope that in eighteen years, this could be the worst thing you've done.

February 15, 2006

Hate Crimes Against Christians?

Get Religion leads this morning with a post about the rash of church fires in Alabama, wondering why the mainstream media has been mostly quiet about them. Crimes like these arsons will test any support of potential hate crimes legislation because Christians aren't exactly the demographic supporters had in mind. And one has to wonder if these churches were either predominantly African-American, or something completely different (perhaps an abortion clinic or a homosexual community organization), if both the media and our leaders in Washington would be so quiet.

February 11, 2006

Urban Agrarianism

Thanks to Doug, I discovered that Mildreds' Daughters Urban Farm has a community supported agriculture program (CSA). The farm is roughly a mile from our house, just over the hill in Stanton Heights. The farm is a part of the larger Grow Pittsburgh organization, which seeks to

...work with community organizations, institutions and individuals to support and encourage sustainable self-reliant food production as a means of greening communities, improving nutrition, earning income and teaching work skills. We work to support people engaged in various projects such as: starting school related gardens, reclaiming abandoned urban lots, integrating sustainable food production into organizational programming, building kitchen gardens to improve client nutrition, and engaging youth in food system work.

As a culture, we are generally ignorant about the production of our food. The fruits and vegetables at our markets (even "green" markets like Whole Foods) are grown elsewhere and shipped, greatly expanding an economy that be localized. Of course, in some areas, this sort of economy is necessary, as not all soil is farmable, but here in the hills of Western Pennsylvania, there's no excuse. Fortunately, our city is thinking about these issues, and we see improvement with the growth of the city's farmers' market program. Grow Pittsburgh seeks to expand on that base, by educating communities on localized, sustainable agriculture, be it an urban farm like Mildreds' Daughters, or your backyard. It's this sort of thing that builds community, and builds knowledge.

February 06, 2006

Super Bowl (2)

I'll make one comment about the game last night.

During the second quarter, Hines Ward took the end around for a first down. When the replay was shown (in slow motion), Ward had a smile on his face the entire time, even as the Seattle defender cut him off and knocked him out of bounds. Talk about a man who loves his work.

February 05, 2006

Super Bowl

So, yeah, the Steelers won the Super Bowl. There are people running up and down our street, yelling, ringing bells, setting off firecrakers. In the blowing snow. I can't imagine the scene in the South Side.

February 04, 2006

These Days

As Jen has noted, we have our hands full with the boys. Things are slowly, ever so slowly, rounding the corner though, as Oren is coming closer to having a bit of schedule for the evening hours, which maximizes our sleep. Sebastien, for all his cuteness, is a dog ever-straining at his leash, testing his limits (and ours). The best cure for such behaviour is activity, but given the season, and the fixed number of hours in a day, it can be challenging to administer. Having a toddler lulls a parent into complacency--yes, he is a lot of work, but he is also striking out on his own, content to "build" things with his tools quietly, or run around the living room playing hockey with a nerf ball and an attachment from the vacuum cleaner. It's a bit of a shock to realize an infant isn't this way. Babies actually cry. And need to be held. Who knew? Jen relayed a discussion she had with a neighbor who just gave birth to her third kid, and she shared our shock and awe at her baby's behaviour. "I don't remember this," seems a popular refrain. Of course, journals jog memories, and we realize, yes, this is how it was.

No matter. It's what we signed up for. Yes, we may complain, but not really. We're only venting. Soon enough we'll be breaking up wrestling matches (or worse) in the backyard.

February 01, 2006

"The New Way to Make Enemies"

Nemester

I shall let this site speak for itself, though be sure to check out the Sasquatch Militia and the testimonials.