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Tweet of the Day
When Trump's 'America First' principle (?) lets him attack Syria or not to attack Syria which did not attack or threaten us, it's arbitrary.— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) April 16, 2017
Saying that Reagan, the Bushes, Clinton and Obama attacked other countries without Congressional authorization doesn't mean Trump can, too.— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) April 16, 2017
Tne 10 Commandments prohibited enumerated evils; the progressives created regulations to complete God's work. #FakeCommandmentFacts— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) April 16, 2017
57 channels, nothing on #TelevisionIn4Words— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) April 16, 2017
Thou shall not display these commandments in public places. #FakeCommandmentFacts— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) April 16, 2017
George Will's latest column reminds us early public schools were not agnostic but favored Protestantism. The Blaine Amendment anti-Catholic— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) April 16, 2017
While the fed Blaine Amendment failed, many states have their own. Public schools have evolved as hostile to religious expression.— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) April 16, 2017
If you represent a religious entity, your school kids may be discriminated against for nonreligious benefits (like playground surfaces).— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) April 16, 2017
A sad day for Turkey and Europe if voting Turks did, in fact, grant Erdogan broad new powers at the expense of the people's liberty.— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) April 16, 2017
Trump better accept the free expression rights of Tax Day protesters taking exception to his non-disclosure of tax returns.No investigations— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) April 16, 2017
Obama helped make the slave trade great again in Libya with his ill-considered intervention. Trump needs to consider unintended consequences— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) April 16, 2017
Note of Nostalgia
I don't recall when exactly the childhood traditions stopped, like the Christmas stocking, Halloween trick or treating, birthday cakes, or Easter baskets. (It could be none of my readers even had such traditions.) Well, for trick or treating it was pretty much over by junior high and puberty. I had pretty much debunked the Santa Claus myth by the fourth grade when I told my inquiring younger brother (by 3 years) that I had thought I had seen black stubble under that fake beard. (Not really; I never pulled on Santa's beard. But it was more important to maintain the facade of an all-knowing older brother. I knew my brother would read between the lines, i.e., the man he knew with black stubble. I was really more of a Santa agnostic; I didn't really believe in Santa--it wasn't all those metaphysical questions of the logistics of delivering presents; it simply went the way of fairies, etc. I was more going with the flow; why should I care so long as I got presents?) So my brother ran out screaming, in front of our other siblings, "Daddy! Daddy! Ronald said you're Santa Claus." No, not really, but my Dad wasn't going to allow a defense lawyer. I got a rough spanking; I remember him spitting out the words with each spank, "Just. because. you. know. doesn't. mean. you. have. to. spoil. it. for. the. other. kids" (My Dad rarely spanked me, so it made an impression.) That's sometimes the price you have to pay for maintaining a facade; it didn't matter I had never initiated the conversation or my brother inferred the truth.
I seem to recall the Easter basket lasted longer--probably because I was 12 years older than my baby sister, and I usually came home for Easter. Mom was a stickler for treating the kids equally. I still recall during graduate school driving home from Houston to San Antonio for Easter, smelling the bluebonnets in bloom along I-10. It was still a culture shock seeing my teen baby brother and sister grabbing soda and Blue Bell ice cream at will from the refrigerator. We only had those on special occasions growing up.
I've never gotten married, so I haven't carried out the traditions in my own family. I think Mom used to continue to bake birthday cakes (for one thing, she had taken cake decorating classes as a hobby while I was in high school). I wouldn't eat the whole cake, but usually I would carry a couple of slices home with me. It just struck me the last time or 2 back home, she hasn't done it, but quite often in the past there were other family visiting at the time. Mom and I rarely eat carb-heavy baked goods any more. If and when I indulge, it's usually dark chocolate.
Still, seeing pictures of my grandnephew with his chocolate bunny, marshmallow chicks, etc., brings back fond memories of my childhood. (Of course, I realize there's nothing profoundly Christian about the Easter Bunny et al.; it has more to do with the lost innocence and joy of youth.)
Towards Diversity of Perspective on Campus
Non-Interventionism in the Age of Trump
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists
Amy Grant (with Randy Stonehill), "I Could Never Say Goodbye"
