The thing is, like...yeah, a lot of times, the Social Exclusion I've experienced has been from people I probably wouldn't have wanted to be friends with anyway. At the very least, if someone is willing to do that, if someone is going to be that judgmental over things that don't actually matter, then any actual friendship with them probably wouldn't last very long.

But...it still hurts. Because regardless of how you actually feel about these people, it's still another instance of somebody telling you that you're too annoying or too much or too emotional or too whatever. It's still one more thing that people don't even give you the choice to have? And if you hear this over and over again, if it happens everywhere you go, then after a certain point it gets difficult to not internalize it at least a little bit.

It's been 30 years of this and it never gets any easier.

hi! sorry for sending this on anon, but i wanted to put my two cents in re:spock&mixed race identity and i have a current aversion to linking this directly to my blog for personal reasons.

i am coming to this discussion from the perspective of a brown mizrahi+white ashkenazi jew who is primarily in contact with the mizrahi part, both literally in the sense of they're the family i talk to and more metaphorically in the sense that i live my life moreso as a brown person and am more in touch with mizrahi tradition etc.

this is probably going to get long for it is late at night and u have adhd, so i'm breaking this down into paragraphs for each question you asked that i have presumably relevant input on and trying to avoid walls of text.

the term half-human/half-vulcan

i don't think referring to spock as half-whatever amounts to blood quantum by itself and spock does in canon refer to himself as half-human several times in a way that doesn't bother me. HOWEVER, if you feel you are approaching that territory in some way, i would recommend trusting ypur gut and rephrasing (if you were oversensitive, no harm's been done, eh?). for spock specifically, he seems to mainly view himself as vulcan. i, similarly (?) view myself as brown - in my opinion, spock is most likely to either, if relevant, say immediately that he is vulcan+human (something along the lines of "i am part/half vulcan and part/half human"/"i had a vulcan father and a human mother" etc) or he will call himself vulcan THEN elaborate (a la "i am vulcan. my mother was human"/"i am vulcan and also human" etc). depending on the conversation, the fact he's both may not be relevant at all - it may be enough to say he's vulcan/human and leave it at that; for example, if you're discussing the way starfleet views alien-ness it's probably enough just to say he's vulcan, if you're talking about him doing a kiddush or something (struggling to come up with a differnet example rn, there are probably better ones) it's likely enough to just say he's human.

the term mixed

i don't think it's offensive to call spock mixed, but it does seem to me a little bit odd. might just be personal tendencies, just seems weird to call a white person mixed becuase the word "mixed" implies the "-race" part. in context it can work, out of context it feels awkward to me.

is spock coded as a poc

seems to me like a stretch. vulcan isn't a race, and (for the time being) spock is a white character and is treated as such. coding him as a person of colour would only work if he were actually one, no matter how much star trek loves using his story to talk about race. whiteness is only distanced from spock insofar as he is a jew (jew coded, whatever. he's undeniably jewish it doesn't matter) and that doesn't take away from his whiteness, only ensures a specific experience of it. (however this is not about black/brown spock my friend spock who lives in my head. he has rights he is loved he should be canonical. but [current] canon spock IS white and it doesn't really make sense to refer to him as poc coded or anything of the sort. a comparison may make my point more clear - worf is poc coded [specifically black coded], being an alien played by a black man written in a way which can in many ways be said to fit into some common black experiences and/or black character tropes [there are some cool essays on that you can look into if you want. worf my beloved]; spock isn't, he is a white character whose alien-ness is often used for race allegories.)

balancing humanity and vulcan-ness

a big part of spock's character arc is learning to accept himself whole. part of that has to an extent been admitting to himself he is also human and was raised by a human mother and currently lives in a majority human sphere. spock engaging in more human practices, letting go of some vulcan disciplines he doesn't want or coming to peace with himself are themes that i think fit his stories and that should be featured when talking about him. BUT, i think that's important, it seems to me more like growing up/accepting himself contradictions and all than like learning to Mix His Cultures. i don't think spock's problem is that he doesn't embrace human culture as his own, i think it's that he actively disapproves of parts of himself in the attempt to be the ur vulcan and takes it out as undervaluing humanity in general. basically my point here is that a lot of spock's journey is about accepting parts of himself that are seen as more human but make sure that when you phrase it it doesn't sound like what you're saying is that in order to be happy mixed people need to embrace Traits™ from all their races or whatever. spock's problem isn't that he doesn't act "human", he doesn't have to - it's that he represses the parts of himself he thinks don't fit his typecast essentially.

writing spock

i don't know how to solve the question of how to make sure you're not overstepping the line, but i would simply say proceed with caution. spock is both human and vulcan, it's a significant part of his character, you can write it, just don't set out to write a mixed story and/or if you see you are straying too far into a life you do not feel you know lay off it.

this is most everything i have to say. i hope it was coherent. i hope it was what you wanted. i hope it wasn't exhausting to read. i would like to conclude by saying @paramount cast a jew of colour to play spock it'll be so sexy and so much less white people in alien makeup are trying to talk about race also i think spock deserves it. it's what nimoy would've wanted he told me this in a dream.

(referencing the asks i made in this post)

thank you for taking the time to make such thorough answer! this really helps

can you do a rundown/review of every song on folklore like you've done for selena? and what your current top 5 are??

considering this is officially one of my top 3 favourite albums ever i’m v happy to 😌! warning, absolutely every single song will be ranked 10/10

thank for wanting to know my thoughts :( i can’t believe anybody would volunteer to read this JDNSKSDJKDS

first of all, my top 5 is probbbbably gonna change (maybe not tho bc my lover top 5 hasn’t really changed a lot), but for now, i think it’s: august > seven > mad woman > illicit affairs > mirrorball

THE 1:

ngl my very first thought was that it reminded me of same love by macklemore skdjdskjdskjsd but not in a bad way!

literally some of the prettiest lyrics, i knew just from this song that this would top red as her best lyrically (best album in general)

honestly just rly sad and sweet and one of those songs that has such a universal sound i feel?

also the simplest song of the album lyrically (also not in a bad way, just like objectively this is the easiest subject matter on the album with the least opaque lyrics), so a really good opener

best lyrics: “we never painted by the numbers baby but we were making it count/you know the greatest loves of all time are over now” and “we were something don’t you think so/roaring twenties tossing pennies in the pool/and it my wishes came true it would’ve been you”

a cute girl, 10/10

CARDIGAN:

i was surprised by the darkish sound of this one

idk what that like clanking sound in the background is but i find it a lil distracting in the first half of the song - but if i ever find out what it is and it has some symbolic meaning/purpose for being there (i assume it does) i’ll accept it sdjknsd

i love the nostalgia that is so present in like almost every song on this album :(

also the music video is stunning and frames the entire album in the most interesting way, metaphor-wise

best lyrics: “i knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss/knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs/the smell of smoke would hang around this long/cause i knew everything when i was young/i knew i’d curse you for the longest time/chasin’ shadows in the grocery line/i knew you’d miss me when the thrill expired/and you’d be standing in my front porch light/and i knew you’d come back to me”

10/10

THE LAST GREAT AMERICAN DYNASTY:

love this one bc it’s like a nice lil exhale in an album filled with angst, like it’s cute and boppy without being aggressive

i’m suddenly absolutely obsessed with rebekah harkness, particularly the “bitch pack” thing and her dyeing someone’s dog green

i love taylor’s storytelling and i love how that’s always been a big part of her approach to songwriting. this is taylor at her best narration, like starlight but so much better. this is a type of songwriting that is so underused these days, esp by mainstream artists and i love so much that she has always used it and been so invested in it

the pronoun change made me screech. sooo goooood

taylor’s obv a deeply autobiographical artist which is why it’s so incredible to hear her tell OTHER people’s stories and somehow make them so her own. like i think it’s mostly the english major in me that just gets so emotional over that...... the way that other people’s stories became our own through the way we tell them......

this song is def the one that is most explicit about the album’s theme of telling stories but ones that tell something about her (and about her listeners too), by switching to personal pronouns at the end. it sets up a pattern for the rest of the album, where each song is about one thing (the actual story she’s telling) but also about a bunch of other things.

a good example of why she’s the greatest songwriter of this generation

best lyrics: “there goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen/she had a marvelous time ruining everything”

10/10

EXILE:

bon iver’s voice was a full shock to the system the first time i listened and idk why sdkjnds it is just so deep and i was not at all expecting it esp after the cuteness of tlgad

anyway these lyrics are GORGEOUS

i love a duet where the 2 singers’ lyrics are meant to be directed at each other. is there a word for that type of duet idk but it always makes a duet infinitely better

the miscommunication exemplified in the bridge...... chef’s kiss heartbreaking

out of all the songs this is the one that makes me feel the most like i am in the middle of a forest in winter. i can already picture myself listening to this song in december with the sound of a crackling fire in the background mmmmmmmm my exact vibe

best lyrics: “you’re not my homeland anymore/so who am i defending now?/you were my town, now i’m in exile seeing you out” and “i’m not your problem anymore/so who am i offending now?”

10/10

MY TEARS RICOCHET:

this chorus BRRROOOOKE ME

writing songs presumably about the masters situation and framing them as breakup songs was absolutely galaxy brain

i feel like the image of tears ricocheting has like a million layers to it and is just suuuuch a smart metaphor

also just such a visually rich song ? so is every song on the album but the metaphors of this song are all just so visual

best lyrics: “i didn’t have it in myself to go with grace/and you’re the hero flying around saving face/and if i’m dead to you why are you at the wake?” and “i can go anywhere i want/anywhere i want, just not home”

10/10

MIRRORBALL:

ok so i did like this one on first listen, i loved absolutely everything on first listen, but it didn’t hit my top 5 until like 8 listens later, so it’s def a big grower and i think could be a huge fan fav by next year

the self-awareness in her writing will never fail to amaze me

the way that life is just performing...... yeah

but it’s crazy to me that a person could be like “i’m a compulsive people pleaser and performer and i’ll do anything to get ppl to like me” and that leads to “i am a disco ball” like ???? her brain is so big. it’s such a gorgeous metaphor.... and the circus imagery AHHHHH

best lyrics: “i’m still on that tightrope/i’m still trying everything to get you laughing at me/i’m still a believer but i don’t know why/i’ve never been a natural, all i do is try try try/i’m still on that trapeze/i’m still trying everything to keep you looking at me” and “i can change everything about me to fit in”

10000/10

SEVEN:

this one simply rips my heart out

at first i was like oh this is so weird and then the chorus just would not leave my head

for me personally, nostalgia is literally 90% of my personality and just for so many personal reasons the thought of childhood ending and all of the growing pains that come along with that have been at the forefront of my psyche for the past year. so it just kills me whenever i find a song like this one and it kills me that taylor specifically has several songs about this topic and this is 100000% the best of them all. like it’s the most beautiful experience to have your thoughts and feelings and fears expressed so perfectly by a total stranger, and that’s rly what art is about and i love taylor for doing that for me and millions of other people

i just feel like this song brings up so many vivid beautiful memories of childhood for so many people, like being outside in the summer and screaming and being free. ugh

the pause after “i hit my peak at seven” before completing the phrase........ OOOOOOOOOF IT HITS TOO HARD

and sound-wise, just so off-beat and cool and unique

best lyrics: “i hit my peek at seven/feet in the swing across the creek” and “are there still beautiful things?” and “love you to the moon and to saturn/passed down like folk songs/the love lasts so long” and “before i learned civility/i used to scream ferociously/any time i wanted”

100000000000/10

AUGUST:

i knew immediately that this would be my favourite tbh like i could sense it the second it began

i wrote my first impression thoughts in my journal and you can tell the exact moment i got to the bridge bc i just started screaming sdnjksdkjsdn

i would 100% get a tattoo that said “to live for the hope of it all”

everything about this song is LITERALLY flawless like i have.......no notes......no thoughts.......it’s just an absolutely perfect song

best lyrics: “back when we were still changing for the better/wanting for was enough/for me it was enough/to live for the hope of it all" and “august sipped away like a bottle of wine/cause you were never mine”

100000000000000000000000000/10

THIS IS ME TRYING:

this song is rly good but i keep forgetting it exists omg :/ once i learn all of the lyrics i’ll appreciate her more

the strings are gorgeous

i was rly surprised that this one was done with jack instead of aaron just bc the bridge of this sounds SOOOO the national

these lyrics could be interpreted in so many different ways depending on the listener’s experiences and that’s beautiful

best lyrics: “i was so ahead of the curve/the curve became a sphere/fell behind all my classmates and i ended up here” and “it’s hard to be at a party when i feel like an open wound/it’s hard to be anywhere these days when all i want is you/you’re a flashback in a film reel on the one screen in my town”

10/10

ILLICIT AFFAIRS:

that soft high note on “down,” “stop,” etc is sooooo nice

i don’t have many thoughts on it, it’s just so soft, SOOOOOO gorgeous instrumentally and lyrically

best lyrics: “it’s born from just one single glance/but it dies and it dies and it dies/a million little times” and “don’t call me kid, don’t call me baby/look at this godforsaken mess that you made me/you showed me colours you know i can’t see with anyone else” and “you taught me a secret language i can’t speak with anyone else/and you know damn well/for you i would ruin myself/a million little times”

100000/10

INVISIBLE STRING:

like i said about tlgad, this is a nice little break from all the angst and pain and anger sdnjksdnskjsd just a sweet little break to remind u there are good things in the world too. so placed really well in the tracklist imo

super super super super cute chorus

so many pretty melodies

absolutely an autumn song btw

best lyrics: “time, mystical time/cutting me open, then healing me fine”

10/10

MAD WOMAN:

i literally lost my mind listening to this for the first time

i have such a thing for scorned women anthems like i will immediately love it whatever it is

the pure rage when she says “cause you took everything from me” gives me full body chills

it is just so eerie and haunting and perfect

best lyrics: “women like hunting witches too/doing your dirtiest work for you/it’s obvious that wanting me dead/has really brought you two together” and “every time you call me crazy i get more crazy/what about that?” and “good wives always know/she should be mad, should be scathing like me/but no one like a man woman”

1000000/10

EPIPHANY:

i find this one so hard to listen to but it’s absolutely beautiful and devastating and so heavily relevant for i think the whole world rn

the heart monitor and the trumpets tying both of the topics in together is so genius and so heartbreaking

i think will be the sygb of folklore where it makes everybody cry so much that it becomes a skip despite being a beautiful song

best lyrics: “something med school did not cover/someone’s daughter, someone’s mother” and “some things you just can’t speak about”

10/10

BETTY:

first of all THE HARMONICA

this made me so happy bc it’s just so debut and so fearless and it made me SOOOOO nostalgic on my first listen, because it really felt to me like i was getting to listen to a song from debut or fearless for the very first time again

it’s just so sweet and cute and simple and yet another very self-aware moment of looking back to her past material/subject matter

best lyrics: “would you have me? would you want me?/would you tell me to go fuck myself/or lead me to the garden?” and “i’m only seventeen, i don’t know anything/but i know i miss you”

10/10

PEACE:

the bass at the beginning is soooooo nice

this miiiiiight be the strongest song on the album lyrics-wise but idk yet

not much to say, it’s just so gorgeous

best lyrics: “i’m a fire and i’ll keep your brittle heart warm/if your cascade ocean wave blues come/all these people think love’s for show/but i would die for you in secret” and “would it be enough if i could never give you peace?” and “i talk shit with my friends, it’s like i’m wasting your honour”

10/10

HOAX:

i have a feeling this one will be underrated/underappreciated bc it’s just simple and dark and the last song, but this is....... a lyrical masterpiece

i feel like i need to be playing this on vinyl with all of the lights off and just a candle burning yknow, like there’s just something so dark and ancient about it

best lyrics: “my winless fight/this has frozen my ground” and “your faithless love’s the only hoax i believe in/don’t want no other shade of blue but you/no other sadness in the world would do” and “you knew it still hurt underneath my scars/from when they pulled me apart/but what you did was just as dark/darling this was just as hard”

10/10

OVERALL: 10000000000/10 literally one of the best albums i have ever heard and (while i wouldn’t put it past her to top it) absolutely the best work of her career. so complex and layered and emotional and painful and genuine and different. not to get ahead of myself but this is/should be considered her blue, her rumours, her abbey road....... god. can’t wait to listen to this album for the rest of my life and play it for my future children and just watch it live on as the greatest work of one of the most important artists of the 21st century

On Political Involvement

Even though I disagree with some of their theology and practices, I respect the Mennonites because they’re willing to accept the odd looks and general “these are crazy people” reaction that society renders them because of their peculiar dress and manner of life.  In the same way, I’d like to begin a criticism of theonomy and Christian Nationalism by saying that I have a similar respect for the folks who hold these opinions - I think they’re deeply wrong, but I do respect their willingness to be mocked and jeered at.  That takes courage, which the church in America could use a lot more of.

What does it mean that Jesus is King of the Universe? To me, it means we should actually do what he says - even in Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 - and view whoever is put in charge over us politically (and in all other spheres of human authority) as being given to us by Jesus Christ for our good.  Sometimes for blessing and joy and freedom, sometimes for discipline and judgement and slavery (Nehemiah 9:36), but always a mere tool and emissary of King Jesus (Isaiah 10:15).  

Here we are, servants today! And the land that You gave to our fathers, To eat its fruit and its bounty, Here we are, servants in it! And it yields much increase to the kings You have set over us, Because of our sins; Also they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle At their pleasure; And we are in great distress. - Nehemiah 9:36

Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood! - Isaiah 10:15

The powers that be would certainly be offended if they realized the truth: that all their pomp and circumstance are empty theater, and that their heart beats or ceases to beat at the command of a higher King, who controls even their desires and plans (Proverbs 21:1).

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes. - Proverbs 21:1

The theonomists have deemphasized this central theme of good Christian political theology to the point of irrelevance.  They think that when God judges an evil empire like our own by placing more despotic rulers over us, it's something that can be remedied if only the Church were more politically active or shouted for biblical principles more loudly in the public sphere (more and more loudly as our numbers shrink).  Because as good postmillenials, it’s our job to immanentize the eschaton, right?

The blood of sixty million innocents cries out from the ground of the United States of America, over which we walk proudly declaring that it’s a Christian country and that we still own the public square.  Even patterns that can be obviously deduced from nature (such as gender) have been denied, and Science and Reason (which have themselves been heavyweight idols for several centuries) have been forced to bow down to newer and bigger and more unkempt idols.  Christians who actually believe the Bible are a shrinking minority.  And that’s OK because Jesus is still in charge, and this is what he’s giving us right now… and it must be for our good because He promises that all things work together for the good of those who love Him.

Wisdom means seeing the signs of the times, and knowing what’s fitting to do in each season.  David fleeing from Saul for years while refusing to take his life or overthrow him (even though he’d become an insane tyrant who mass murdered priests of God)… Jesus’ command to early disciples “when they persecute you in this city, flee to another” (Matthew 12:23).  Have you noticed how much running away the people of God do in Scripture?  A lot.  That doesn’t appeal to the resurrected form of ancient pagan masculinity being passed off as Christian in some circles today, but it’s true.  

Sometimes, of course, God appoints a champion to stab Ehud or kill Goliath and they do use violence.  But David’s not allowed to build the temple because he’s a man of war rather than a man of peace - even then, and much more in the New Testament as God’s heart is more fully revealed, living at peace is normative for Christians, insofar as it depends on us (Romans 12:18).  On a human level, it’s humiliating: going the second mile or turning the other cheek isn’t fun or masculine or sexy according to both the world’s judgment or our natural inclinations.

Perhaps a confusion about vocation that’s the real rub here: if God has appointed you to be the President of the United States or a senator or mayor, you should hold that office as a Christian and use whatever wisdom God’s given you to do your job, which means that yes, you will certainly apply Biblical principles to your vocation - same as a good Christian plumber would apply those same principles to his work.  If you’re an average voter and feel like you can ethically vote for someone, then use your minuscule influence for good.  But the New Testament is eerily silent about the value of traditional political power, and that should make us suspicious.  They tried to make Jesus an earthly king by force and He refused (John 6:15).

Loving the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves, is not a calling or license to be political busybodies.  When God gives us harsh masters we cry out to Him for relief; and when he blesses us by giving us better rulers than we deserve, we thank Him.  Politics is the domain of the high and mighty, and one wonders how much the heart of a Christian should be drawn toward them.  We’re more in the meek and lowly in heart camp, working with our hands and living peaceful, quiet lives (1 Thessalonians 4:10).

But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing. - 1 Thessalonians 4:10

As Paul knew very well, sometimes that’s not possible when you speak the truth: mobs and riots and stoning were unfortunately normal for him.  But let’s make sure that we’re stoned for good works: speaking the truth about abortion and pornography and homosexuallty in love to our immediate neighbors, welcoming strangers into our lives and telling them the good news that another King greater than Caesar is here.  Let’s be stoned for encouraging and binding up the weary, and making sure that whatever spheres of influence God has placed partially under our control (home, office, neighborhood, etc) should function according the the law of liberty.

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” implies that some things are Caesar’s business, not ours.  Are you a centurion?  Then of course part of Caesar’s business is your business too.  But taking it to mean that plain Christian citizens therefore “own” whatever government God currently has them under is like saying Christians own all the cars and houses that belong to the other people in their town, since ultimately all cars and houses do belong to King Jesus, right?  It’s true that all things are ours, but that doesn’t mean that I can commandeer my neighbor’s Lexus.

Being an informed voter takes at most a couple hours a year.  Keeping your eyes open for news that could actually affect the people you love takes a few minutes a week.  I can’t speak for everyone, but for myself, whenever I go much beyond that I get a strong sense that I’m just being a busybody in other people’s matters (1 Peter 4) and a connoisseur of indignation.

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. - 1 Peter 4

🌠 💁 🌟 🎁 🌻 🌺 🍦 🐼 (half for Tae and half for Sunny; you can choose! o v o )

🌠 : if you were in charge of the world, what would the world look like?

The red-haired shot a look over at the blond, and he seemed to catch the gist of it. “I want to live in a world without restrictions and boundaries and rules. I’d love the world for its chaos, and knowing that I’d stand above it brings me a lot of satisfaction. If I was in charge of the world, I would let it unravel.” He played with a free lock of crimson, loving its softness. “As for her, she’d want to make a world of understanding. Not a world of forgiveness, because she knows she doesn’t deserve that much. But she’d want a world that understands her upbringing and her path and curses the world for making her what she is.” There was a moment of silence and Taehyung’s chuckle broke the void. “I don’t see anything wrong with her, but we both know that the world sees her differently.”

💁 : if someone was rude to you, would you be rude back?

At the question, Sunny’s eyes rolled at the back of her head, as she knows what to expect him to answer. Even though he was ready to reply, it was with his mouth wide open that he was interrupted. “It depends how rude. I usually punch people for it when I know they can take it. Taehyung would mark them as his next prey almost immediately.”

🌟 : what do you like about yourself? (must choose at least 3 things!)

His mouth still hanging open from being cut right before his answer made the boy unable to pick up his thoughts spread about. The woman replied with a sigh, one that couldn’t quite remind him that she perfectly knew the instant when he wanted to talk because she simply felt it in the air. “My small body would be one thing. Besides being aerodynamic and better at fitting in small places, I’m also pretty easy to throw around for fun.” The emotion on Taehyung’s face was a perfect mixture between horror and disgust, but it gave his friend the green light to continue her list.

“A second thing… the combination of my abilities with my jobs is exactly what makes me one of the best in my field. And I guess my aim is another great thing about me. My abilities always help with it, but it’s a skill I had to develop alongside my other talents.”

A flick to the forehead brought back the boy to a state of semi-consciousness. “I can eat all the food I want, I have a fast metabolism, and I’m great at covering my tracks,” he sputtered mechanically, barely out of his stupor at Sunny’s revelations.

🎁 : what never fails to make you happy?

“Food.” The mere thought of it made him drool and, unfortunately for his female friend, he let the strand reach the floor and create a small pool at their feet. “Gross. I hope you’ll clean that. You know this isn’t your apartment, right?” If Taehyung wasn’t going to do the cleaning, she’d be sure to tell Seo Ah about it. “Stillness. When I basically can feel nothing but myself within my sensitive sphere. I rarely get to cherish that kind of moment.”

🌻 : if you could change 3 things about the world what would you change?

At this, the boygrinned and pointed at the red-head. “I know she really wants soundproofwalls. It’s about that whole stillness thing. And her powers, yeah.” Inresponse, he got no less than a full-on glare. “You don’t understand how itworks, so maybe you should shut the fuck up. Change number 2 would be to changefriends. Why do you and Seo Ah have such a bubbly and idiotic personality? Itmakes me sick.”

She feignedvomiting on the floor next to them, which earned her a disapproving look. “Sunny누나 should lighten up,but I sure won’t waste my 3 changes on her stupid personality!” Even though thecomment was meant to be hurtful, the concerned person only rolled her eyes, noteven wanting to waster her energy on pretending to be offended. “I say that mythird change would be the past. I don’t particularly care about world events,but preventing what happened to my team years ago would be a nice change.”

Taehyung seemedsurprised for once, causing a frown to form on Sunny’s face. “What?” The singleword was full of annoyance, but it didn’t prevent the boy from responding witha lot of emotion in his voice. “So noble 누나! I didn’t knowyou’d want something like that! You’re usually so selfish and broody!” Thecreases on Sunny’s face deepened and, had it not been for the presence of this rengokuinkpersona asking them questions, Lilith would probably be beginning a brand-newlifetime. “Okay, but even though I’m making fun of 누나, if I could makethree changes in the world, they’d be pretty selfish,” he admitted.

“Let me guess,” shescoffed, leaning towards him with a finger threateningly pointing at him. “Onehas to do with cannibalism being legal and one has to do with God.” DespiteSunny’s smirk, Taehyung insisted on throwing unconvinced glances at her. Butshe knew better and she knew he just wanted to put on a show of some sort.

Suddenly, hesnapped his fingers and transformed the gesture into a thumb up to approve ofher conclusions. “Very perceptive of you 누나! Laws oncannibalism and murder are pretty restrictive, even if they give me theopportunity of hunting. But even if I got rid of them, I’d ultimately have toget rid of human morality. I don’t think I’d mind them going back to only havinganimalistic instincts. Us angels were always meant to be greater than humans.”

As much as hewould’ve liked to hear his friend’s rebuttal since she was the most human ofthem both, he thought they had spent quite enough time on this question, andthey would bicker unnecessarily. Without missing a beat, the cannibal completedhis answer with his third wish: “I think God wanted to punish my brothers,sisters and I by sending us down here and by separating us from each other. IfI could change something, it would be to be reborn with my kin.” Oddly enough,Taehyung’s last wish got Sunny to swallow her complaints.

🌺 : which languages do you know? which do you want to learn?

After quarrelling endlessly about the best changesthey could provide to the world, both looked at each other in a common answerto this question. “We both only know Korean and English. I don’t think there’smuch of a point in learning others,” Taehyung declared, but Sunny raised afinger to add another point. “Unless it’s to snoop on Boa 언니’s conversations inFrench. She probably badmouths us because we badmouth her.” And, at that addednote, both nodded in unison in a rare moment of agreement.

🍦 : what is one treasured childhood memory?

“Finding out aboutmy powers was an exhilarating moment,” Sunny recalled, despite encountering severalproblems during this questioning alone. “I thought the whole soundproof walls businesswas to help you function without being bothered by everything,” the boy cleverlynoted. He waved his arms around frantically while making several sounds, whichearned him a slap at the back of his head. “You being agitated doesn’thelp my case. But when I discovered I was a mutant and what I could do, Irealized I could do something of my life and be somebody other than this streetkid.”

Recognizing herlogic, Taehyung hummed in appreciation for the confession. “Mine’s easy: my 16thbirthday feast.” A raised eyebrow communicated Sunny’s confusion at how recentthe event occurred. “You’re not really a child per se when you’re 16years-old,” she retorted, before pointing at herself. “My childhoodmemory was something before I even turned 10.” The cannibal, being as cheeky ashe was, shook his head frantically and pulled his tongue at her.

“You need to be 18 to legally be an adult! Soanyone less than 18 years-old is technically a child.” For a moment, thered-head wished she had some sort of telekinetic power to either stop herselffrom hearing the boy’s nonsense or to stop him from talking. Either way, Sunnywas sure she’d still be rolling his eyes at him and still wouldn’t want towaste her abilities on him.

🐼 : if you could meet anyone, who would it be?

“OH! OH ! Iknow the answer to that!” Taehyung’s sudden screaming couldn’t be prevented andeven if the female mutant knew he was preparing himself to be as loud aspossible, she couldn’t cover her ears in time, which caused an uncomfortableringing to occur. Instantly annoyed, she groaned in desperation and startedmumbling to herself about her incomprehension as to why she’d ever accept to doa joint interview with him.

“Hannibal Lecter! I’dbe honoured to learn from him and be his pupil. Too bad he’s super fictional,”he moaned, defeated by the agony of reality. “What about you 누나? You have accessto confidential information about so many people and contacts all over theworld. No one can hide long enough from you.”

It was odd ofTaehyung to compliment Sunny on her skills, but it was surely appreciated. “You’reright, but I think I’d like to have a talk with whoever got us mutants to existin the first place. I’d like to know why we’re in a world where humans are muchweaker than us, but we’re a minority which they are afraid of. We, in turn,live in fear.” The fallen angel’s eyes darkened, not appreciating where thisconversation was heading for its implications. “You’d like to meet God? Becauseyou mutants are a result of mutating genes?”

Immediately understanding why there was a shift inhis mood, the assassin grinned at him and shrugged. “It really depends. Are we actuallythe result of mutating genes or has a science product released in the generalpopulation caused the mutation to spread? It’d be interesting to discover.” Sunny leaned towards Taehyung with a knowing smile on her lips. “But if it’s indeed your god that made us this way, I’d like to have a talk with him. And perhaps ask him about your story.”

Can I get a witness?--Romans 12:9-21--Sunday, September 6, 2020

One of the great benefits of my time at Eastern Mennonite Seminary was having the privilege to meet and study under our dean, George R. Brunk, III.  George is a spiritual giant in the Mennonite Church.  An introverted, scholarly follower of Jesus, Dean Brunk took great delight in training up the next generation of preachers and pastors, especially in the two classes he taught—Interpreting the Biblical Text and Greek Exegesis, a class where students were introduced to the wonderful nuances of the Greek text of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, work from which George’s commentary on Galatians was eventually published.

We all knew, however, that there was one particular thing that really frustrated George:  he couldn’t stand it when seminary students would apologize for sermons.  Preaching in seminary chapel can be an intimidating thing; every student knows that the faculty understand the text better than they do, and even though the faculty come as worshippers and not evaluators, the tension is real. So inevitably a student would begin their sermon with an apology.  “I was up late studying for an exam, or writing a paper, or getting a reading assignment done, and I didn’t have as much time as I wished to prepare for the sermon.  I hope you’ll extend grace to me.”

It only took a time or two of this before the inevitable would happen.  Grace from the Dean came with a lecture that I’ve come to call the George R. Brunk Rule of Preaching: “Never apologize for your sermon.  Stand there and proclaim the word as if you have something profound from God to say—because you do!”

After graduating from seminary, I moved to Patrick County to begin as pastor of New Hope Church of the Brethren. Soon after that I was elected to the Church of the Brethren General Board, where I met my friend and colleague Frank Ramirez, currently the pastor of Union Center Church of the Brethren in northern Indiana.  Frank is a fantastic writer and preacher and from him I’ve learned to modify my preaching rule to with the Frank Ramirez corollary to the George R. Brunk Rule of Preaching:  “Never apologize for your sermon…but you might want to leave the engine running in your car.”

There were no cars in 1858 when Brethren elder Samuel Garber was invited to travel from his home in Illinois to preach in a Presbyterian Church in eastern Tennessee, but for all the trouble his sermon got him into, I wonder if he might have left the engine running in his car.  The circumstances of the invitation to preach are largely lost to history; what we do know is that Brother Garber was invited to preach on Isaiah 58:6:

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

Brother Garber gives this report on his experience:

I attended at the time appointed and found a large concourse assembled. I took the…text and delivered a discourse. I spoke of the yoke and the bondage of sin in general terms, and of temperance, justice, and judgment to come, and particularly against oppression in every shape and form. I held forth the law of love, mercy, and truth; showed that there was a time coming when every yoke of sin would be broken, intemperance banished from our sphere, oppression cease, contention, strife and wars would be at an end; love, peace, good-will, union, and fellowship would universally prevail throughout the whole earth, etc.

    About the close of my discourse, I said that among the yokes and oppressions might be named that of slavery…

As I mentioned, this was Tennessee in 1858, and it was here that Brother Garber’s troubles for preaching the Gospel began.  Another minister immediately announced that he would preach a sermon to show that Isaiah 58:6 had nothing to do with African slavery. Garber was condemned for preaching an abolitionist sermon in the presence of a master and slave, threatened with lynch law, of being tarred and feathered, and being ridden out of town on a rail.  Ultimately, he was fined $234 for an illegal sermon.

I share this rather lengthy illustration this morning neither as an apology for my sermon nor an indication that I’ve left the engine running in the car.  But it is to invite you into a conversation around how willing Brethren today are to proclaim a specific Gospel.  How willing are preachers like myself to stand on the Gospel when it leads us to culturally unpopular places?  How willing are church members to follow the Gospel to these same places, and share in the sufferings and controversies that will come when we pray “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”?  Brother Garber’s sermon was acceptable until he made application to the cultural hot-topic of the day—whether or not White people could own Black people.

The times in which we live

There is no question that these are challenging, uncertain times.  Many people are struggling, and there are as many kinds of struggles as there are people who are struggling.

Covid-19 brings anxiety about catching the virus and frustration with job insecurity, loneliness, and social isolation.  Both of your pastoral families have had to quarantine recently.  Your concern for us has been expressed with a more serious tone of voice than in other times we’ve been sick.

Social unrest is constantly with us in a variety of forms: Black Lives Matter; police shootings-protests-violence; child sex-trafficking; abortion; immigration; 2020 Presidential election happening in a political context that pits people against one another.  One of the funniest and saddest things I heard about the recent political conventions is that there is one thing both parties agree on: if the other guy wins, the world will probably end.

To all of that I will add the way social media—especially (but not only) Facebook—continually stirs the pot in the form of “gotcha” types of posts that assume that anyone who thinks differently is a bad American, bad Christian, or both; quotes attributed to public figures offered with minimal or no awareness of the fuller context of those quotes; outright conspiracy theories that would require the collaboration of law enforcement, both political parties and all news media in order to be true. For my purposes, there are offenders of all political persuasions in this.

To risk putting it simply, we are living in the midst of an unsustainable level of anxiety and outrage.  Like Covid-19, we don’t need to have the virus to be impacted by the virus.

Let risk a personal story. About 10 years ago I had a panic attack while telling a Cougar River story on Christmas Eve.  It was the strangest thing: I could feel it coming on, and even as I was telling the story to the congregation, I was telling myself, “Calm down.  You’re fine. You know this story backwards and forwards. There’s no reason to be anxious.” But I couldn’t do a thing in the world to stop it. Several in the congregation knew something was up when they saw how white my face became. Finally I asked the organist and music minister to lead a hymn, and I left the room.  Even though I eventually got myself under control, the whole thing was terribly embarrassing.

About six months later I spoke about this with a friend who is a psychiatrist and asked him what I could do if it happened again. He told me that everyone has an anxiety threshold that, when crossed, will push us into a panic attack. On that particular Christmas Eve, I was already a bit anxious (for whatever reason), and something happened that caused my anxiety to “spike” past that threshold.  

Because we can’t control the events that cause our anxiety to spike, what we have to do is lower our overall anxiety so that when the spikes come, you can recover from them.

I want to be very clear about my point this morning: How do we understand our calling to be the church in a culture that feels as if it is constantly on the verge of a panic attack? How do we lower the threshold so that when the inevitable spikes come, we are prepared to handle them in a theologically, relationally, and emotionally healthy way?

You know that I enjoy beginning the sermon before we read the Scripture—although I doubt I’ve ever waited this long.  But after all that has been said, let’s call our attention to today’s text and read Romans 12:9-21 in unison.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.  Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good

Two weeks ago I needed to be at home under quarantine, and Brother Greg graciously came and preached an excellent sermon on how Jesus calms the storms in our lives.  Of the many helpful things he said in that sermon, one particularly stood out to me:  “The presence of Jesus does not mean the absence of difficulty.”  There was literally no safer place for the disciples to be than in the very presence of Jesus, and yet the storm came anyway.

I want to riff on that statement this morning this way:  the presence of the church does not mean the absence of conflict. Where better to work these things out than in the presence of the church?  Romans 12:9 tells us specifically:

“Hate what is evil, hold fast to the good.”

Brother Garber’s 1858 sermon did just that.  What is more, it was the sermon on abolition that caused the anxiety in East Tennessee to spike almost beyond the point of no return.  Make no mistake, Brother Garber publicly took sides in the most contentious social and theological controversy of his day.  He was not neutral. He did not see it as his job to preach a generic Gospel that soothed all and offended none.  The threats of lynching had to be taken seriously.  

So how did the Brethren respond?  We might say they lived out Paul’s words in Romans 12:10:

love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.

The Brethren of east Tennessee sent Brother Garber home and said, “We’ll pay your fine.  You’ve done your job, now let us do ours.”  Copies of The Gospel Messenger from 1859 are still available to read online.  You can read the appeals made by Brethren asking the entire denomination for financial help.

I wonder sometimes if such unity exists in the wider church today.  I watch the way that Brethren have largely divided themselves up in ways that feel like they too closely resemble the divisions of our political parties and I wonder how we would respond to a sermon and fund raising appeal like that of Brother Garber’s day.  Sometimes I see members of our congregation having conversations on important matters like these on Facebook.  Generally we behave ourselves pretty well.  But there are moments when I want to say, “Why are we not having these conversations in Sunday School, where we can open our Bibles, be honest about our opinions and how we’ve formed those opinions and have a rigorous theological discussion on what it means to follow Jesus in the presence of contentious issues?”  We are people whose theology is shaped by 2,000 years of Christian tradition and 312 years of Brethren tradition. We are not the first ones to face challenging circumstances.  As we seek knowledge and understanding, do we value our own heritage?

There’s no sense in pretending we’re neither bothered by nor discussing these matters.  Is our commitment to one another something that is stronger than our politics, or is there some part of ourselves that we’re holding back behind a filter of sorts? This is the kind of struggle that Paul knew; he planted congregations filled with people who questioned other’s theological correctness.  Still he labored to show them that the Gospel was more powerful, and had the ability to transform even the most entrenched theological position, bringing all things together in Christ.

Paul could be this way in part because he was a great believer in a stranger-centered faith that proclaimed the Gospel in the midst of evil times.  He knew that the missionary focus of the church had certain things to teach us about the Gospel. So he challenges us to

Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. (Romans 12:13-16).

I am convinced that part of the problem with our collective outrage is that we think we know more about other people’s situations than we really do.  It is easier to criticize someone for weeping than it is to enter into their circumstances and weep with them.  What might we learn by expanding our own set of relationships to include the sufferings and struggles of real people so that instead of having a weapon available to win a Facebook argument, we have a fuller understanding of the challenges people face, so that we might more effectively bear witness for Christ in the midst of our anxiety and outrage driven culture?

There is much more that can be said on this subject, but at some point we simply need to stop.  Two more very brief points.

First, about those rules of preaching I mentioned at the beginning.  I hope Dean Brunk would be satisfied with what I’ve said here today and not heard any hint of an apology.  As to that part about keeping the engine running in your car, well, my car keys are right here.  I’m not going anywhere, and I certainly invite further conversation.

Second, on those days when my own anxiety gets a bit higher than is helpful and I’m feeling particularly homeless in the midst of our culture, I find my soul nourished by several Christian singers.  Michael Card is one of these.  He is a masterful poet with an incredibly insightful way of proclaiming the Gospel in the midst of these times.  His song God’s Own Fool reminds us that if we are serious about following Jesus, then we had better be prepared to be misunderstood. That was Jesus’ experience, and it will be ours.

Satoshi Revolution- Chapter 2: Currency Creates Freedom and Civilization…Or Oppression (Part 4) The Satoshi Revolution: A Revolution of Rising Expectations. Section 1: The Trusted Third Party Problem Chapter 2: Monetary Theory by Wendy McElroy Currency Creates Freedom and Civilization…Or Oppression (part 4) “Historically, money was one of the first things controlled by government, and the free-market ‘revolution’ of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries made very little dent in the monetary sphere. So it is high time that we turn fundamental attention to the life-blood of our economy—money.” –Murray Rothbard, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Currency Creates Freedom and Civilization…Or Oppression I was seven years old when I realized my parents did not understand some of the most important dynamics of life. I was riding in the back seat of the car with a bag of candy purchased from a roadside store which was supposed to keep me quiet. It didn’t work. A thought tumbled out of my mouth. “Why do we pay for anything?” I asked. “Why don’t people just go into stores and take what they need?” My mother replied, “It is wrong to steal.” I explained, “I don’t mean stealing. I mean why do we give people money instead of sharing everything?” My parents fell silent. When I asked again, my mother shot back over her shoulder, “Don’t ask stupid questions!” They didn’t know the answer; I recognized this immediately. And their inability to explain why we needed money disturbed me because they discussed money constantly. How to make more, was there enough to repair the car, could they afford to replace the roof, someone needed dental work, what was the spending cap on Christmas? Concern about money ran through every aspect of their lives and, yet, my parents didn’t know how to answer the basic question of why we need it. “Money is simply how the world works,” they finally explained, “because it lets people buy the things they need to live.” This was a non-answer because it returned me to the question of why we buy the things in the first place instead of sharing. Why do we trade paper for stuff, and why do people give us stuff for paper? At a childish level, I was trying to understand monetary theory and I’ve been struggling with it ever since. Nothing has been more valuable in that quest than the short book “What Has Government Done to Our Money?” by Murray Rothbard. He does not use the term “trusted third party” or its equivalent in the book nor did he use such a term elsewhere in writing or conversation, as far as I know. Murray was a friend and mentor; I suspect he would have viewed the need to trust a financial intermediary as not being a problem at all, because private banks could offer guarantees such as reputation, redemption in gold and audits. To him, the dilemma of modern money began with government and ended with the free-market that allowed individuals to issue money; Murray named his own hypothetical currency “the Rothbard.” These were the pre-Bitcoin decades. Money radicals solved the trusted-third-party problem by demanding free-market money and banking; they did this because the only third party on which they focused was government. The solution did not go far enough because free-market alternatives also rested on trust and, any time trust is required, betrayals will occur. But privatization was the best solution possible at the time; the blockchain had not surfaced to allow people to become self-bankers. “What Has Government Done to Our Money?” belongs to the pre-Bitcoin years but it has significant contributions to offer the cryptocurrency world. There, Rothbard explains the origins of money as well as its pivotal importance to freedom and civilization. Free-market money is rooted deep within the needs of human nature, which makes a lie of the argument that regulating bitcoin is no big deal or even beneficial. If freedom and civilization depend on a free-market money, then unregulated cryptocurrency is essential to human welfare. Rothbard next sketches the catastrophic impact of government on money; namely, it destroys freedom and reverses the progress of civilization. These are the stakes of the game. Rothbard provides a context in which to appreciate the immense liberation that is the blockchain and the immense oppression that is modern monetary policy. The book is a deceptively simple exposition of the world’s greatest swindle: inflation. The scam was possible because people needed a trusted third party in currency and government legally usurped that role, especially through central banking systems. The scam is no longer inevitable, however, because an intermediary is no longer necessary. To understand the devastation of inflation, it is necessary to grasp the nature and power of money. Monetary theory needs to be laid out in simplistic terms because an intentional haze of complexity has ensured that people like my parents are left speechless and puzzled when confronted by easy questions. The confusion is intentional because it could be easily avoided. Schools could teach commonsense economics; government and financial institutions could be transparent rather than presenting a brick wall, as the Federal Reserve does about being audited; fiscal policy could be presented in English rather than bureaucratized with impenetrable statistics. It won’t happen. The lack of public awareness benefits government in tightening its grip on money. A Brief Tour of the Basics (Note: “money” here is used as a synonym for “currency” because that is money’s most important function. The other functions — acting as a store of value or a unit of account — are consequences of its primary role as currency.) Goods and services are exchanged within every society because exchange is a human need. It is the engine of economic life. It is a wellspring of prosperity because exchange is not a zero-sum game, as some economists argue. That is to say, if a person trades a fish for a loaf of bread, it is not because the value of a fish is one loaf of bread with each trader’s gain and loss equaly balancing the other’s. The exchange occurs because one person values the bread more than the fish and vice versa; each profits from the exchange or it would not occur. As a by-product of trading, the parties also establish cooperation and perhaps a level of good will, which means exchange may be the basis of civil society as well. Human beings are so diverse that the skills within even a small set of individuals can vary dramatically; trading these skills, and the resulting goods, increases the odds of survival both for the group and for each member. But direct exchange or barter is severely flawed, as Rothbard explains. “The two basic problems are ‘indivisibility’ and ‘lack of coincidence of wants’.” Indivisibility means it is difficult or impossible to divide many barter items, like a plow, in order to trade for several different things with multiple people. So no trade occurs. A lack of coincidence of wants means Smith has eggs and Jones has shoes but Smith wants to trade for butter. So no trade occurs. Indirect exchange solves the barter problem…to a degree. Smith trades with Jones for a marketable good he doesn’t want but which can be traded to a third person for something he does want. A remarkable by-product spontaneously emerges: money. Indirect trading naturally encourages a medium of exchange to appear. Why? Those who buy a good to trade it will favor a highly marketable one that exchanges widely, easily and well. Highly marketable goods tend to share characteristics such as divisibility, durability, fungibility and transportability; it is no coincidence that these same characteristics are often used to describe good money. In the beginning, the marketable good is generally desired due to its use value. Rothbard lists some goods that went on to become currencies: “tobacco in colonial Virginia, sugar in the West Indies, salt in Abyssinia, cattle in ancient Greece, nails in Scotland, copper in ancient Egypt, and grain, beads, tea, cowrie shells, and fishhooks.” The demand for the good soon generates a “reinforcing spiral: more marketability causes wider use as a medium which causes more marketability, etc. Eventually, one or two commodities are used as general media–in almost all exchanges—and these are called money.” (On this basis, Rothbard would have rejected bitcoin as currency, insisting it did not originate in or constitute a “useful commodity.” A rebuttal of this position occurs earlier in this chapter. Commonly-accepted currencies eliminate the need for indirect exchanges that can be clumsy, time consuming and geographically limited. Eventually, currency created a complex free-market that allowed millions of people to consume products from around the world. Prosperity ensued. In short, money catapulted human beings from survival and into circumstances with time to think, to be artistic, to pursue relationships, to invent, to waste time. In other words, money permitted civilization. Mark Twain was correct in revising the old expression to read, “the lack of money is the root of all evil.” Enter government. Currency had played a defining role in freeing and civilizing human beings but now it would be used to enslave and debase them. Inflation, the Greatest Theft of All Unlike individuals, government does not trade goods and services for money in a voluntary exchange. Instead, government expropriates wealth from productive people by forcing them to pay for its ‘goods’ and ‘services’ whether or not they want to or benefit from them. Taxation is the most visible form of theft but a myriad of others exist, from monopolizing goods like postage stamps to licensing cars. The most powerful tool of expropriation is the government’s monopoly on issuing money or fiat. Rothbard explains, “The emergence of money, while a boon to the human race, also opened a more subtle route for governmental expropriation of resources….[I]f government can find ways to engage in counterfeiting—the creation of new money out of thin air—it can quickly produce its own money without taking the trouble to sell services or mine gold. It can then appropriate resources slyly and almost unnoticed, without rousing the hostility touched off by taxation.” Everyone understands taxation because it comes with forms to fill out, a need to write checks or to pay a visible premium at the checkout. No wonder tax resistance and rebellions have been common themes through U.S. history since the American Revolution. But inflation is too subtle and complex to create enraged mobs…that is, until it goes badly out of control and then it is too late. If taxation is a gun, then inflation is like a cat burglar. This makes it all the more important to understand. Inflation is an increase in the supply of money and credit. It is usually associated with government, and with good cause, but it can occur with free-market money as well. For example, the supply of gold could increase for various reasons. But a crucial difference exists between government and free-market inflation. Gold fulfills many non-monetary uses and those employments would increase as the cost of gold fell. This means an inflation in gold is a social good for the other uses even if the inflation temporarily reduces its monetary value. The increased demand for non-monetary uses both absorbs the “excess” supply and drives the monetary value back up. In short, the inflation tends to be self-adjusting, temporary and is accompanied by a social benefit. Moreover, a fall in gold will drive up the value of competing currencies, such as silver. By contrast, government fiat’s only use value is as currency which means there is no self-adjusting mechanism. World markets may react negatively and devalue the egregious fiat – that is, if their fiats are not as bad or worse. If so, the offending government can crank up the printing press and create a vicious circle of further increasing the money supply. The average person has little choice but to live with the inflation because legal-tender laws forbid competing currencies. In short, fiat inflation has no social benefit or escape route, only social devastation and entrapment. The word “inflation” is often used as a synonym for “a rise in prices” but the rise is a consequence of inflation, not its cause. The cause is an increase in the supply of money and credit. The difference between these two usages is more than semantic. Viewing inflation as rising prices misses much of the great harm it inflicts. For example, inflation redistributes wealth from average people upward to the ruling classes. This happens because freshly-printed fiat is initially valued at the same rate as all other units of it in existence. Doubling the money supply overnight eventually collapses the buying power of each unit, but the first users enjoy the pre-inflation value because the increase has not trickled through the economy. The first users are typically government, banks, financial institutions or businesses that are offered favorable loans. The end user receives fiat that has gradually diluted in buying power as it has spread throughout the economy. This user is the average person who bears the full brunt of inflation by having the value of his income sink while prices around him soar. With legal-tender laws and the elimination of the gold standard, there is little to check government from pumping up money and credit at will, using interest rates for fine tuning. The incentives are all on the side of inflation. It is hugely profitable to government and mostly invisible to the average person, especially in its early stages. The economic villain of free-market advocates, John Maynard Keynes, knew this well. His pivotal book “The Economic Consequences of Peace” (1919) states, “By a continuing process of inflation, government can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens.” The harms of inflation scroll on and on. Rothbard highlights a less-discussed one. “It distorts that keystone of our economy: business calculation. Since prices do not all change uniformly and at the same speed, it becomes very difficult for business to separate the lasting from the transitional, and gauge truly the demands of consumers or the cost of their operations. For example, accounting practice enters the ‘cost’ of an asset at the amount the business has paid for it. But if inflation intervenes, the cost of replacing the asset when it wears out will be far greater than that recorded on the books. As a result, business accounting will seriously overstate their profits during inflation—and may even consume capital while presumably increasing their investments.” The Central Bank bears massive blame for the theft and market distortion of inflation. In the United States, the Federal Reserve System is sometimes called “private.” For one thing, the regional Reserve Banks are private corporations that are owned by their member banks. The label is illusory. The Federal Reserve was established by an act of Congress (1913) and derives its core power from a government-granted monopoly to issue money. The system may mimic a private agency in some ways but, as Rothbard explains, the system of banks are “always directed by government-appointed officials, and serve as arms of the government.” The Federal Reserve consistently acts in a manner that enables inflation. It does so in two ways: removing checks on inflation and directing inflation itself. Rothbard offers an example of the first tactic. “[T]he Federal Reserve Act compels the banks to keep the minimum ratio of reserves to deposits and, since 1917, these reserves could only consist of deposits at the Federal Reserve Bank. Gold could no longer be part of a bank’s legal reserves; it had to be deposited in the Federal Reserve Bank.” He illustrates the second: “By controlling the banks’ ‘reserves’—their deposit accounts at the Central Bank. Banks tend to keep a certain ratio of reserves to their total deposit liabilities, and in the United States government control is made easier by imposing a legal minimum ratio on the bank. The Central Bank can stimulate inflation, then, by pouring reserves into the banking system, and also by lowering the reserve ratio, thus permitting a nationwide bank credit-expansion.” Fiat inflation destroys the free-market which is its antithesis. The extent to which government tightens its grip on money is the extent to which the free exchange upon which liberty and civilization rests is weakened. Traditional private money confronts the government in an admirable David-Goliath fashion but it does not remove the statist loophole that allows inflation – the need for a trusted third party. Not until the blockchain side steps government and obviates trust does currency regain its status as a vehicle for freedom and civilization. [To be continued next week.] Thanks to editor/novelist Peri Dwyer Worrell for proofreading assistance. Wendy McElroy has agreed to ”live-publish” her new book The Satoshi Revolution exclusively with Bitcoin.com. Every Saturday you’ll find another installment in a series of posts planned to conclude after about 18 months. Altogether they’ll make up her new book ”The Satoshi Revolution”. Read it here first. The post Satoshi Revolution- Chapter 2: Currency Creates Freedom and Civilization…Or Oppression (Part 4) appeared first on Bitcoin News. https://news.bitcoin.com/satoshi-revolution-chapter-2-currency-creates-freedom-and-civilization-or-oppression-part-4/ To get started: http://bit.ly/unlibitcoin To double its value: http://bit.ly/btc-gold

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