Driving a Beater + More

DEATH

"In the grand and hopeful story of the Christian God, death is an integral part of it. A common word used to refer to the death of believers in the New Testament is “sleep.” Yet, when the Bible talks about the death of Jesus, it never uses that word. Jesus died so that we might “sleep” and wake up to a world where all is made well again. Death was our destiny until the resurrection of Jesus made it a door.

While pain and suffering are matters of serious concern that demand solidarity and sympathy, the redemptive work of God in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ brings hope out of surrender to this saving grace." Neil Vimalkumar Boniface, Slice of Infinity 

RACISM

"The defamation that police are institutionally racist because America is indelibly racist has opened a potentially unbridgeable chasm. It is abetted by two national character flaws. The first is our gravitation to political leaders capable only of making matters worse by their spitefulness and Manichean posturing.

"The second is our increasingly manifest conviction that we are not worth defending. We seem convinced that there is no positive case to be made for a society that idealizes liberty and the equal dignity of every person. For a society that does not pretend to be perfect, but that strives to be better. A society that confesses its sin and works toward redemption: spilling its blood to end slavery, fighting to end de jure racism, and rejecting racial discrimination as a socially acceptable attitude.

"If we do not believe we are worth preserving — humbled by our flaws, yes, but duly proud of our virtues and our historic accomplishments — we will not be preserved."  Andrew McCarthy, National Review Online

JUSTICE

"No justice, no peace. Can we have peace now?

"No: This quest for “justice” will not be sated by the conviction of Derek Chauvin, nor by police reform, nor by other targeted changes to the criminal-justice system. What we’re watching unfold both in our cities and in our culture is something more profound — a broadside against the country itself, its institutions, its self-image, and its history. If the iconoclasts were just concerned about the blight of honoring traitors who fought for the preservation of slavery, the vandals would have been satisfied by toppling the statues of the Confederates. But they went after Washington, and they want Lincoln next."  John Hirschauer, NRO

DRIVING A BEATER

"I adore beat-up, used-up cars. I’ve lusted after a dented Volvo 850, a rusty Toyota Camry. I cannot help it: There is something to be admired about these mangled machines. In fact, I think everyone who is able should own and operate a beater car. The benefits are near limitless. They are humbling, have merit whether you lean left or right, are eco-friendly, and encourage personal responsibility."  Luther Abel, NRO  My first car was a 1964 Ford Galaxy 500.

LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

"One of my fears about these past months is that we have become more isolated from the big picture -- the opportunity to see things from a vantage point of more than what's on the news right now. There are lessons to be learned about who we are and who we are meant to be in some of the history that is being targeted by vandals. Even some of the statues the mobs are targeting oddly give me some confidence. Somewhere in our hearts, we know what we want and need. We're drawn to the good, even if we make a mess of it sometimes when we get there. We eradicate evil, one choice at a time, by love, not by expunging memory. We want to heal, not to live a lie." Kathryn Jean Lopez, Townhall