A Few Thoughts: Books and Other Stuff

I have a lot of books, or as Dear Diane might tell you, “He has far too many books.” Indeed, had I not bought books, but instead taken the money I have spent on them and instead invested it in almost anything else — except maybe Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX — I’d be far more comfortable today, but not nearly as happy. Maybe I’ll make the switch to Kindle, a rarely used app stored on all my devices. It would certainly be much less expensive. But I suspect it would take me a long time to adjust psychologically from real, bound books to digitized imitations. It just ain’t the same. And there’s something reassuring and comforting about going to the right bookcase, finding the right book, then flipping through the pages to locate the right words. I often forget the exact titles of books, but for some reason recognize the “look” of their bindings or dust jackets.

Anyway, as long as I’m writing about books, here’s a quick look at two books in my library: one recent addition and another that's been there a while.

Bibi: My Story, by Benjamin Netanyahu (2022) This book, a gift from one of my sons, is a “must-read.” Regardless of your attitude toward the once and present Prime Minister of Israel, you will find this autobiography more than interesting. Like his brother, Yoni, who was killed while commanding the remarkably successful rescue mission at Entebbe, Netanyahu also served in combat as a special forces officer. But it is his subsequent life in Israeli politics that makes up the bulk of this fascinating and well-written autobiography. If you want to come to a better understanding of Israel, still our closest ally in the Near East, and its current leader, this book is a must.

The Evolution of Civilizations, by Carroll Quigley (1961). In September 1962 I began my freshman year at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. I spent only that one year at Georgetown because I was fortunate enough to receive a congressional appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy where I would spend the next four years. But like every freshman at the School of Foreign Service, I took the required course on the development of civilizations taught by Carroll Quigley. To say that I enjoyed the course would be a gross understatement. Quigley taught in a large lecture hall and before the first class had ended, we were all captivated. After all, we were 18-year-old freshmen and this legendary professor simply wowed us with his knowledge and delivery. It was a form of education we had never experienced, and he left us spellbound. We listened and scribbled in our notebooks, hoping to capture the important points. We were several classes into the course before someone dared ask a question. As I recall it was an intelligent, relevant question, asked by a young Nigerian woman, and answered quickly and satisfactorily by Quigley. I was happy to receive a C for my first semester grade, not a particularly impressive grade, but better than the majority of students who were lucky to get a D. My class notes disappeared long ago, but after 61 years I still have the text, Quigley’s book, The Evolution of Civilizations. I enjoyed reading it once again a few years ago, and recommend it to anyone who desires a better understanding of how we as a society, as a part of what’s left of Western Civilization, came to be. The above link is to a 2nd edition, published posthumously in 1979.

A brief afterthought. I recently came across an article — “Is Georgetown University Committing Suicide?” — written by Quigley in 1967 and published in the university’s newspaper, The Hoya. It’s an interesting article, written over 50 years ago by someone who would have been considered a liberal, back when liberals really were liberal.

Postscript: Ilya Shapiro and Georgetown

Another postscript: June 9. Read the interview of Ilya Shapiro on Townhall.com

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/spencerbrown/2022/06/07/i-finally-feel-free-ilya-shapiro-tells-his-side-of-the-georgetown-saga-n2608301

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Several days ago I mentioned Georgetown Law School's "rehiring" of Ilya Shapiro after a four-month investigation into his tweet criticizing President Biden's policy on Supreme Court nominations. 

Well...things have changed, drastically. Based on the report published by the Law School's Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Affirmative Action (IDEAA), Shapiro decided he could not remain in his position as Executive Director of the law school's Center for the Constitution and submitted his resignation.

In response to the IDEAA's report, a report that clearly demonstrates Georgetown's intolerance for diversity of thought, Shapiro wrote a letter of resignation that thoroughly addresses the school's embracing of cancellation culture in which only so-called "progressive" opinions are permitted. His letter of four scathing pages is worth reading and can be found here on Twitter:

Ilya Shapiro on Twitter: "Here’s my resignation letter from @GeorgetownLaw, a place that doesn’t value free speech. In the name of DEI, it stifles intellectual diversity, undermines equal opportunity, and excludes dissenting voices. https://t.co/KrAlfTEk7z" / Twitter

A Georgetown spokesperson responded with the following:

"Georgetown urges members of our community to engage in robust and respectful dialogue. Our speech and expression policy promotes free and open inquiry, deliberation, and debate and does not prohibit speech based on the person presenting ideas or the content of those ideas, even when those ideas may be difficult, controversial, or objectionable...While we protect speech and expression, we work to promote civil and respectful discourse. In reviewing Mr. Shapiro's conduct, the University followed the regular processes for members of the Law Center staff."

The dishonesty of this response is apparent if you take the time to read Shapiro's letter. 

As I mentioned in that earlier post, I attended Georgetown's School of Foreign Service for a year prior to entering the Naval Academy. I have kept in touch as a (sort of) alumnus and receive the school's quarterly alumni magazine just to keep up with its devolving values. In truth, the university has changed so much since my time there in the early 1960s that I am ashamed to claim any allegiance. Georgetown has essentially ceased to be a Catholic or Jesuit university, and simply mirrors the godless values that typify so many American universities today.

Eight Unconnected Thoughts

Diane and me at GU (Statue: Bishop John Carroll)

Hoya Hypocrisy. Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic university in the United States, has invited Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, to speak as a part of the university's Lecture Fund. Not only does Ms. Richards run the largest abortion provider in the nation, she also recently bragged about aborting her fourth child because three children were enough. In response to criticism, the Jesuit-run university claimed that Georgetown “deeply values our faith tradition that encourages the free exchange of ideas." I'm embarrassed to admit that before I entered the Naval Academy back in the early 60s, I attended Georgetown for a year. It was a very different institution back then. And I suspect GU's founder, Bishop John Carroll (1735-1815), would not be pleased with the changes.

Tough Guy. Some months ago Donald Trump publicly denigrated John McCain, a highly decorated Navy pilot and POW, as a bogus war hero because he was shot down, captured, and tortured by the North Vietnamese. This from a man who spent the Vietnam War dodging the draft. He talks real tough -- "I'll bomb the s--- out of ISIS" -- but doesn't have a clue about what that really means to those who must do the bombing. I expect the young Trump was motivated by the same thing that motivated most of the draft-dodgers I met during the Vietnam era. After a few beers they would let down their guard, drop the political excuses, and admit they just didn't like the idea of getting shot at. News flash: Who does? But when you do everything you can to avoid serving...well, we used to call that cowardice.

Just Wages. In his general audience Pope Francis stated that the Church doesn't want donations from the affluent if they exploit or underpay their workers. And while I completely agree with the Pope, I think he should direct some of his attention internally. Every survey I've seen indicates that the Catholic Church pays its lay employees somewhere between 15-30 percent less than those in equivalent jobs in Protestant churches and even less than those doing similar work in the private sector. In many instances the Church does not pay what could reasonably be considered a just or living wage, and retirement benefits are often non-existent or minuscule. Perhaps we should clean our own house first as an example to others. Too many Catholics simply do not support the Church and its mission, and too many bishops seem afraid to demand that they do so. Here's an article on the subject: Just Wage. 

Historical Myths. I've been a part-time student of the history of Islam for years and have always been puzzled by those historians who claim that Islamic Spain was a multicultural paradise in which Christians and Jews were treated with respect and dignity by their Muslim rulers. This is especially puzzling since virtually all of the contemporary evidence contradicts this belief. If you would like to learn the truth about Islamic Spain, you can find it in this wonderful, well-documented history by Darío Fernández-Morera, The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise. It's a page-turner. Read it. 

The Beheading of St. Eulogius of Cordoba in Muslim Spain

Catholic England. Another book of revisionist history has been around awhile. First published in 1992 and republished in a second edition in 2005, The Stripping of the Altars, by Cambridge professor Eamon Duffy, tells the story of the late medieval Catholic Church in England. It covers the period immediately before and during the early years of the Reformation, from 1400 to 1580. I've been meaning to read the book for years but just never got around to it. And then the other day I spotted a copy on our parish's free book shelf and grabbed it. It's a lengthy tome (over 600 pages of fairly small print) but filled with remarkable insights. 

Pistol-packin' Deacon. A few days ago my son, a former Marine, and I stopped by a local gun shop here in Florida where I picked up the forms needed to apply for a Florida concealed carry permit. When I mentioned this to one of my brother deacons he was apoplectic: "You're an ordained deacon, how can you carry a weapon?  It's not something Christians do." When I asked if Christians had a right to defend themselves and their families, he seemed to think it was alright but not if they used guns. I refrained from asking if I could use an ax. When I mentioned that as a Christian I always carried a sidearm when I flew as a Navy pilot, he mumbled something about wartime being different . As they say in New York, "Go figure!" Actually I just enjoy shooting and a permit will let me carry a pistol or revolver to a range without a lot of hassle.

God Exists. I keep encountering new, at least to me, revelations of God's presence in His creation. One day last week, in the late afternoon, while Maddie (our dog) and I were strolling through the neighborhood, I noticed the flicker of a fast-moving shadow on the nearby grass. Looking up I encountered a  marvelous sight: 42 white pelicans (I counted them) flying in two equally balanced V formations. The setting sun cast an amber glow that turned their wings to gold. They were perhaps 200 feet overhead and, despite their numbers, flew by us in complete silence. It was another of those beautiful, unrepeatable experiences that force you to accept the truth: the world is no accident. "And God saw that it was good."

Critical Vote. While the November elections in the United States could well determine the direction our nation will take for years to come, they are not the only 2016 elections with long-term worldwide ramifications. On June 23 the British people will vote in a referendum on Britain"s continued membership in the European Union (EU). Cleverly called "Brexit" (British Exit), the referendum has been scheduled as early as possible by Tory Prime Minister Cameron in the hope that the EU's growing troubles won't escalate much before June. Interestingly, although Cameron strongly favors continued  EU membership, many in his cabinet and as many as 150 Conservative MPs favor Brexit. Daniel Hannan, an elected Member of the European Parliament, explains here why Britain should vote to leave the EU and put him out of a job.

Around the World...

Pakistani Christians Protest

Pakistan [from AsiaNews]. Finally, out of Pakistan comes some good news for Christians. Asif Masih (24), a young Catholic from the village of Kathore, had been falsely accused of blasphemy by two Muslim neighbors and subsequently arrested. Blasphemy is a very serious offense in Pakistan and can result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty. Defending oneself against such accusations is problematic for Christians since the trial usually turns into a he-said-he-said situation in which the testimony of Muslims carries more weight in court than that of a Christian. This time, however, young Asif was supported by a wealthy Muslim landowner, Chaudhary Khalid Cheema, as well as by most of the villagers (all Muslim) who came to his defense at his trial on May 9.

During the trial, testimony showed that the main accuser, Muhammad Boota, had falsely accused Asif, who was then released for lack of evidence. Asif's parish priest spoke of how the blasphemy law had been often abused in the past, but this time he "was touched by the solicitude of Muslim landowners, the Muslim community and the local administration." Afterwards, Chaudhary Khalid Cheema, Asif's prominent defender, stated that "being Muslim is no reason to defend Muhammad Boota because his behavior towards Asif Masih was repugnant." He then went on to say, "I have no doubts that the young Christian is innocent...We will stand by the Christians for their rights, and will live together with equal respect and dignity."

May his tribe increase...

Indonesia [from AsiaNews]. I'm all for freedom of speech, but I have to admit this little piece of news out of Indonesia generated some mixed feelings. It seems the authorities in Indonesia have cancelled Lady Gaga's concert, scheduled for June 3 in Jakarta, because they deemed it "incompatible with the culture and moral values of the country." Indonesia, of course, is a Muslim nation; indeed it is the most populous Muslim nation in the world. And yet, surprisingly, it's reported that Lady Gaga has quite a large following among young Indonesians, a fact not lost on Indonesia's influential Islamist organizations. While the growing influence of Islamist radicals cannot be considered a good thing for Christians living in the country, a small part of me wants to cheer them on for showing Lady Gaga the door. They have accused the pop star of being an "admirer of Lucifer," an accusation I am unable to affirm or dispute. I simply find her distasteful. The problem, of course, is that these Islamists would likely level this same accusation at Christians simply because we're not Muslim. As I said...mixed feelings.

Advertising the Lady Gaga concert in Jakarta

It's also important to realize that historically freedom of speech -- which today has morphed into "freedom of expression" so that it encompasses far more than speech -- once had its limits. I believe it's safe to say that our founding fathers would not have considered x-rated movies, flag burning, internet porn, or Lady Gaga shows acceptable forms of expression protected by the Constitution. They, too, would have considered each of these "incompatible with the culture and moral values of the country." My, how far we have come since those unenlightened days. We now permit virtually anything under the banner of free speech -- After all, it's a right enshrined in the First Amendment, isn't it? -- while at the same time we prohibit most religious speech in the public square. But isn't that right also explicitly guaranteed in the First Amendment? Well, yes, sort of...but our reigning cultural and moral values are different today and they don't include religious expression. All that religious talk irritates too many people.

And so Lady Gaga -- banned in Jakarta, but not in Boston -- will probably just add another concert here in the USA to enhance her bottom line. I'm so happy for her.

Washigton, DC [Cardinal Newman Society]. Georgetown University, the nation's oldest (1789) Catholic University, has invited Kathleen Sebelius, the Obama administration's Secretary of Heath and Human Services (HHS) to speak at the Jesuit university on commencement day. She is slated to speak at an awards ceremony for the university's Public Policy Institute. Normally, inviting a cabinet member to speak would generate little interest or controversy. But Secretary Sebelius is the author and future enforcer of the administration's recent decision to trample on the religious freedom of Catholic organizations by forcing them to either shut down or support government programs that are completely contrary to core Catholic beliefs. This decision has been condemned by the U.S. bishops who have declared that they will not comply with these unjust requirements.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'll admit that I attended Georgetown for one academic year (1962-63) prior to receiving an appointment to the Naval Academy. I can say only that this university was a very different place back then. The decision by the school's current administration to invite Sebelius to speak is nothing less than a scandal, and in the minds of many will place the university in opposition to the U.S. bishops as they cope with what is perhaps the greatest threat to religious freedom in our nation's recent history. As Georgetown professor, Fr. James V. Schall, S.J., wrote today, "The rule of thumb in these matters is: 'Tell me who you honor and I will tell you what you are.'”

By the way, eight faculty members signed a letter asking the university's president to withdraw the invitation to Secretary Sebelius -- that's eight out of nearly 2,000. How very sad.

Religious freedom, contraception and Georgetown Law School

Statue of John Carroll, 1st U.S. bishop, at Georgetown U.

Back -- way back -- in 1962 I attended Georgetown University for one year before receiving a congressional appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy. In those days, Georgetown, a Jesuit institution founded in 1789, was actually Catholic. Even in the School of Foreign Service we had required theology courses. A crucifix was displayed in every classroom. There were well-segregated men's dorms and women's dorms. We had nightly curfews. The men wore ties and jackets to class. And, yes, we were actually encouraged to attend Mass and receive the sacraments.

This is no longer the case, as Georgetown has fallen into step with the zeitgeist. Over the past few decades the university has shed most traces of its Catholicity and devolved into a secular institution with a "Catholic heritage." This was at least partly evidenced the other day during Nancy Pelosi's hearings on the administration's policy requiring Catholic institutions to provide free contraception, sterilization, and abortifacients. One young woman,Sandra Fluke, who testified at this hearing complained that she and other women attending Georgetown Law School suffered financially because the cost of contraception was not covered by the university's health plan. I could hardly believe my ears. This woman wanted someone else, in this instance a nominally Catholic law school, to pay for law students' promiscuity. I'll give Georgetown some credit for their more restrictive health plan.

Apparently, as Nancy Pelosi herself has stated, women's health demands that the availability of free contraception must trump that pesky old religious freedom our founding fathers enshrined in the First Amendment to our Constitution. What is euphemistically called "women's health" actually has very little to do with women's health, unless one believes pregnancy to be a disease. It really involves the freedom of women to be sexually active without having to fret about the consequences. It involves the killing of a living human being up until the moment of its birth...and even after. And we're supposed to pay for all this regardless of our religious beliefs.

Earlier today I read a wonderful essay by Emily Stimpson in which she wrote:

"Birth control is not women’s friend. Abortion is not women’s friend. Sexual license is not women’s friend.

"Together, they have reduced women to objects, contributed to the ravaging of women’s bodies by sexually transmitted disease, spiked both abortions and out of wedlock births, helped build a culture of promiscuity and pornography where women are primarily valued for their sexual desirability, caused infertility, caused cancer, caused divorces, destroyed families, and left wounds so profound and so deep on the souls of millions upon millions of women that nothing but the greatest miracles of grace will be able to heal those wounds.

"They are all, unequivocally, bad news, and the Catholic Church recognizes that.

"In the culture today, women have no greater friend than the Catholic Church. It is the Catholic Church who fights for us. It is the Catholic Church who respects us. It is the Catholic Church who sees us as the beautiful, intelligent, graced images of God that we are."

And if your son or daughter wants to attend Georgetown, I suggest you refuse to pay for it.

Georgetown Strikes Again

I attended Georgetown University (the School of Foreign Service) for one wonderful year before accepting an appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. In those days (1962-63) Georgetown was still a Catholic university. Even on the East Campus, which included the Foreign Service School, Business School, and Language Institute, and had many non-Catholic students, I was required to take courses in theology and philosophy. Things have certainly changed.

Now it seems that the only time Georgetown makes the news is when it takes another step away from its Catholic and Jesuit roots. The latest incident relates to a decision by Georgetown University Hospital to make some interesting changes to its chapel. This "Catholic" chapel now has Muslim prayer rugs hanging on the walls and the Stations of the Cross facing Mecca were removed, all apparently in an attempt to accommodate Muslims.

Is Georgetown embarrassed by its Catholicism? Aren't the Jesuits still Catholic? Don't patients and visitors in a Catholic hospital expect the chapel to be a Catholic chapel? Is Mass still celebrated in the chapel? What about the Holy Eucharist? Is there a tabernacle in the chapel? Or has it simply become a prayer or meditation room?

Makes one wonder what Georgetown will do next.


Read more...

Georgetown Should Lead and not Bar the Way

Back in the early sixties I attended Georgetown University for all of one year before receiving a congressional appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Now...let me say from the outset that my year at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service was a lot more fun than the subsequent four years at Annapolis. Indeed, there was really no comparison. After all, in those days the Naval Academy was severely lacking in some of the basic necessities that motivate the average college-age male -- e.g., beer and girls -- particularly during the monk-like existence of a midshipman's plebe (aka, freshman) year.

Now, don't worry, this deacon is not going to get all confessional on you and reveal the failings that marked "my salad days, when I was green in judgment..." Yes, I enjoyed myself while at Georgetown. And yes, I downed my share of cold beers at the 1789 and at Mac's Pipe and Drum at 34th and M, and I enjoyed the company of a number of lovely young ladies who attended Georgetown or other Catholic colleges in the DC area. But life was different 48 years ago, even life on a college campus. Despite occasional slippages, we were essentially moral young people. We certainly had no trouble recognizing immoral behavior in ourselves or others. We repented and went to confession frequently, and attended Mass on Sunday morning. And the university actually encouraged and supported us in this. Yes, it was a different world.

I mention all this because of what seems to have happened at Georgetown University in recent years. Our nation's oldest Catholic university has, in essence ceased being Catholic. Here are just a few examples from the university's recent record. Draw your own conclusions. I will begin with an event that almost boggles the mind:

Sex Positive Week. Last year GU hosted what was billed as "Sex Positive Week" during the first week of Lent. The event was hosted by the school's feminist and homosexual student clubs. It was quite an event and included forums on fetishism, cross-dressing and bondage. On Ash Wednesday there was a talk on "non-exploitative" pornography; but, wait, that's not all. One of the highlights was a talk by a pornographic filmmaker who spoke on “Relationships Beyond Monogamy." On and on it went...and also included theater, sex-positive poetry readings, and homemade pornography. Now, keep in mind, this is all being held on campus at an ostensibly Catholic (Jesuit) university and funded by the Student Activities Commission.

A Georgetown blog, lists details of some of the week's events. (If you're easily bothered by details on such subjects, I suggest you scroll down a ways.) I include the links just to show you I'm not making this up. The following is straight from the blog...

• Tristan Taormino. The self-proclaimed “anal sexpert,” author, and pornographic director will be speaking in ICC 115 on Saturday at the event “Relationships Beyond Monogamy.” Her racey bibliography includes Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships and True Lust: Adventures in Sex, Porn and Perversion

• Jenny Block. The author of Open: Love, Sex & Life in an Open Marriage will be speaking at the same event. But If the first chapter of her book (PDF), which sincerely discusses the difficulties of modern women, is any indication, she’ll won’t be anything like Taormino.

• Last night’s “Torn about Porn” event, a discussion about whether images from No Fauxxx shown in a slideshow are “Sex Positive”—that is, affirming rather than objectifying or exploitative, like sex-negative porn. I attended this for tomorrow’s article. While you can construe the ten or so images in the slideshow as ‘offensive,’ the conversation was grounded, with most students concluding that porn is porn, and these images in particular are just “porn with hipsters in it.’

• Mitzi from Black Rose, a D.C.-based bondage and discipline, sadism and masochism organization “that hosts, among other things, educational classes revolving around BDSM activities, issues, and safety.” She spoke at Monday night’s “Sex Positive … What’s that?”

• Ricci Levy of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, a group which “educate[s] the public on the importance and value of sexual freedom and counter the arguments of groups seeking to restrict sexual rights”  (think Lawrence v. Texas) and “oppose[s] abstinence-only sex ‘education’ and endorse an age-appropriate, comprehensive approach to sex education.” She also appeared at Monday night’s “Sex Positive … What’s that?”

Isn't all this wonderful?

Cross Cover-Up. Back in April of last year, when President Obama selected Georgetown as the site of a policy speech, the university covered the Christian symbols (a cross and the letters I.H.S.) behind the president's podium, thus hiding the university's supposed affiliation with the Church.

The photo at left shows the IHS and Cross (circled) in their usual location. In the photo below, they have been covered up for the president's speech.

It seems a bit reminiscent of what took place in the courtyard of the high priest 2,000 years ago when Peter denied Our Lord.

Hey...Every Religion's Cool. From the Georgetown website:

Protestant, Jewish and Muslim worship takes place on campus [at Georgetown] in services organized by the Office of Campus Ministry and student groups. Bible studies, daily retreats and three Sunday worship services in the Protestant tradition take place on campus. The Jewish Chaplains and the Jewish Student Association hold a Shabbat dinner each Friday. A Muslim prayer room in Copley Hall is used for Islamic prayer and worship daily and there is a large Muslim community worship service each Friday. On Tuesday evenings there is an Orthodox prayer service in Copley Crypt.

In other words, religious services of other religions are offered on a Catholic campus, and this in Washington, DC where such services are available at numerous locations throughout the city. It's just another example of the relativism and syncretism that Pope Benedict XVI has consistently warned against.

Georgetown, of course, isn't alone. It activities and policies are mirrored by most of the other large, Catholic colleges and universities throughout the country. But as the nation's oldest Catholic institution of higher learning, Georgetown should lead the way in the New Evangelization by strengthening and not weakening its students' faith. And more importantly, it should certainly not be promoting and financially blatant immorality on campus.

Now when folks tell you that schools like Georgetown are no longer Catholic, you'll know what they mean.

Pray for our Catholic schools at every level.