Happy Friday,
Do not let the sun go down on your anger.
The Apostle Paul
Letter to the Ephesians
It’s important to know how to handle anger. It’s also important to note what makes people mad – especially you. In Matthew 2, Herod grew angry when he heard about the birth of a new king. The Pharisees got mad whenever Jesus helped someone on the Sabbath. The disciples got mad when a woman spent money caring for Jesus’ feet. What makes you mad and why?
Be Happy: In Defense of Food, Michael Pollen summarizes a lot of diet information in seven words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants. Here is my effort to channel Pollen while summarizing HBS professor Arthur Brooks’ many writings on happiness: Embrace faith and family. Serve others. Cultivate friendships. Avoid Screens. Be thankful.
Father’s Day: Dads, if you look past the golf, this 2-minute video makes two points: You matter, and they are watching.
It Seems to Me: 1) We’d be wise to raise the age of “internet adulthood” in an effort to stop social media from further undermining our democracy; 2) Princeton’s recent decision to dismiss a tenured professor puts academics everywhere on notice: Speak against the spirit of the age at your own risk; 3) Jonathan Haidt’s Atlantic piece – “Why the Past Ten Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid” – is worth rereading; 4) The first thing to say about politics is that politics should never be the first thing.
Without Comment: 1) After ten years in development, Amazon is set to launch its drone delivery program; 2) To the surprise of many, email keeps growing. There are 3.7B users today and 4.5B expected in 2024; 3) When you hear a 7th grade band play Beethoven, don’t judge Beethoven.
Addictions: I asked for your take on addictions and you replied. In third place was “self” – self-image, personal pleasure, etc. In second place was porn. And the number one spot went to (drum roll please) “our phones and other social media devices.” Let the record show: 1) I deleted the subscriptions of those who suggested coffee was an addiction; 2) I am against all addictions to digital content, unless said content is something I am sending out digitally; and 3) I was surprised by how few mentioned the classics:alcohol, drugs, gambling. (Other nominees included: nicotine, dopamine, sugar, consumerism and “belief in nonsensical falsehoods.”
WOTW: David French’s article on hate almost got me to select stochastic terrorism, but I opted for shrinkflation instead. It turns out I’m not crazy. Gatorade bottles, restaurant portions, toilet paper rolls and other portions have been shrinking. If inflation remains at record highs, perhaps our waistlines will shrink as well. (Look for this if you see pigs flying or cows walking home.)
_________
Did someone forward you The Friday Update? Sign yourself up here.
_________
Brothers: I’m late in noticing the “troubled brothers” theme in Genesis. Think: Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, and Joseph and the other 11. In his essay on Creative Minorities, the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks comments on this highlighting the moral progression of the last scenes: First, Abel lying dead at Cain’s feet; then Isaac and Ishmael standing together at their father’s grave; then Jacob and Esau embracing; and finally, Joseph extending forgiveness and reconciliation to the very ones who had sold him into slavery.
Is Religion Poison? Many believe religion makes society worse. In this book, sociologist Rodney Stark draws on 247 studies to list 101 ways religion makes things better. Among his points, religious people: 1) Are the primary source of secular charitable funds; 2) Engage in more prosocial behavior (e.g., blood drives); 3) Are less likely to commit crimes; 4) Live an average of seven years longer; 5) Read more; and 6) Are less likely to divorce. To be clear, bad versions (and bad applications) of religion are everywhere. But it’s worth looking at the data. There is a reason why – in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail – Dr. Martin Luther King cites the prophets of the Bible and not an atheist manifesto. BTW, I recently discovered King’s sermon on loving our enemies. It is worth reading.
Are You Prepared: In this piece, Jennifer Bryson – a Catholic Scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center who previously worked as an interrogator at Guantanamo – reflects on the development of our conscience. Having failed to prepare her conscience in advance, she writes: “The time to deliberate, seek advice, and reflect for long periods of time in prayer so that we can have a conscience that can stand on solid footing ‘just when it matters’ exists only ahead of time, when one can’t foresee the curveballs.” She goes on to note that “conscience is not a rabbit we can suddenly pull out of a magic hat. It is something that must be cultivated and developed over time so that it is available and ready to go when one of those ‘just when it matters’ moments comes our way.” It makes me wonder, am I ready for what I will face tomorrow?
Closing Prayer: Lord, in union with your love, unite my work with your great work, and perfect it. As a drop of water, poured into a river, is taken up into the activity of the river, so may my labor become part of your work. So, may those among whom I live and work be drawn into your love. Amen. (St. Gertrude the Great – 1256-1302)