Happy Birthday, George

Today is George Washington's birthday. How we ever got to celebrate "Presidents' Day" I will never understand. But I digress.

I was moved several months ago when I read David McCullough's book, 1776. There is an account of Washington that blew me away.

Joseph Reed, Washington's aide-de-camp and secretary, had sent a letter, with one of Washington's, to General Lee. This was after the order to abandon Fort Washington in New York, in the face of an overwhelming British force. McCullough writes:

"Reed's letter was a stunning indictment of Washington. At best, it could be taken as a desperate indiscretion; at worst, an underhanded act of betrayal.

His commander's indecision over whether to abandon New York and again at Fort Washington had left Reed badly shaken. His confidence in Washington was shattered. But instead of confiding his feelings to Washington, he secretly poured them out to Lee, leaving no doubt as to who he thought should be leading the army in its hour of need.

He wished 'most earnestly' to have Lee 'where the principle scene of action is laid,' Reed wrote, seconding what Washington had said. Then, claiming he had no wish to flatter Lee, he went on to do just that and to make his main point.

I do not mean to flatter or praise you at the expense of any other, but I confess I do think it is entirely owing to you that this army, and the liberties of America, so far as they are dependent on it, are not totally cut off...You have decision, a quality often wanted in minds otherwise valuable...Oh! General, an indecisive mind is one of the greatest misfortunes that can befall an army. How often have I lamented it this campaign. All circumstances considered, we are in a very awful and alarming situation--one that requires the utmost wisdom and firmness of mind. As soon as the season will admit, I think yourself and some others should go to Congress and form the plan of the new army." (p. 248-249)

There follows this account of Washington, some days later.

On November 30 at Brunswick, a sealed letter from General Lee to Joseph Reed arrived by express rider. With Reed still absent, Washington tore it open thinking it might be news that Lee and his men were at last on the way. The letter was dated November 24. "My dear Reed," it began.

I received your most obliging, flattering letter--lament with you that fatal indecision of mind which in war is a much greater disqualification than stupidity or even want of personal courage. Accident may put a decisive blunder in the right, but eternal defeat and miscarriage must attend the men of the best parts if cursed with indecision.

Lee went on to explain why he had not started for New Jersey as Washington had wished, and apparently did ot intend to do so.

What Washington thought or felt as he read the letter, or how many times he may have reread the first paragraph, no one knows. Clearly Reed, his trusted confidant and friend, and Lee, his second-in-command, had both lost faith in him.

Washington resealed the letter and sent it off to Reed with a note of explanation.

The enclosed was put into my hands by an express [rider]...Having no idea of its being a private letter...I opened it...This, as it is the truth, must be my excuse for seeing the contents of a letter which neither inclination or intention would have prompted me to.

He thanked Reed for the 'trouble and fatigue' of his journey to Burlington and wished him success in his mission. And that was all." (pp. 254-255)

Amazing! A private letter addressed to someone else, opened by mistake, but with severe criticism of Washington. And Washington reads one paragraph, stops, seals it, and sends it on with an apology. Surely, it was a different era. And only a truly great man could have done such a thing. Impressive.

Happy Birthday, George. We are a richer country for your life and leadership.

And the Number One Song is......

On the day I was born, "Don't be Cruel/Hound Dog", by Elvis Presley. Found this great site to tell you the umber one song in America on the day you were born, according to Billboard magazine. The amazing thing is, that was the number one song on the day my wife was born as well! Seems Elvis held the top of the charts for at least six weeks in a row that year.

My son's birthdate saw "If You Don't Know Me by Now" by Simply Red as the number one song.

My daughter's birthdate saw "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men.

What was the number one song when you were born? (HT to MKH at HH)

Blog Rage

An excellent article this morning in the Washington Post concerning "blog rage", here Written by Jim Brady, executive editor of Post, concerning the Post's decision to remove the comments section of the paper's blogs. The Post published an article about the Jack Abramoff scandal, and some of the content was inaccurate. A correction was published. But that did not satisfy many bloggers, who evidently responded with some vile and obscene posts of their own.

Interestingly, Brady posits two causes of this. One, he says there is no blogosphere. He compares many blogs with echo chambers, where people only read blogs they agree with.

Why are people so angry? It was a mistake, it was corrected. Part of the explanation may be the extremely partisan times we live in. For all the good things it has brought our society, the Web has also fostered ideological hermits, who only talk to folks who believe exactly what they do. This creates an echo chamber that only further convinces people that they are right, and everyone else is not only wrong, but an idiot or worse. So when an incident like this one arises, it's not enough to point out an error; they must prove that the error had nefarious origins. In some places on the Web, everything happens on a grassy knoll.

He continues:

Another culprit in Web rage: the Internet's anonymity. It seems to flick off the inhibition switch that stops people from saying certain things in person. During the Howell flap, many of the e-mails I received that called me gutless, a coward or both were unsigned.

I enjoy reading blogs, and have some favorites. I do not like the "flaming" blogs, which seem to exist for the sole purpose of making fun of, or degrading a certain ideological or political expression. Or person. I like blogs that lead me to new insights, that do not merely serve up the talking point of the day, which do not always assume that common knowledge is so common, and who actually link to their sources. Above all, I like blogs where the content, the discussion, is mostly civil. We have enough problems in discussing controversial issues without adding kerosene to the fire by being personally insulting and vulgar.

I must confess that I do hang around, from time to time, in a San Francisco Giants online forum. Sometimes, the banter can get quite off-color, but it seems all in good fun. After all, it's only baseball. I admit that this is not an edifying place for me to hang out long, and it is a guilty pleasure. But it is a lot like when I go to the games with friends. "Why didn't he throw a strike there? Why did he throw home? Mercy! He swung at the first pitch. Again!" That kind of chatter goes well at ballgames, and on this ESPN forum.

However, to take the same tone, the same banter, and same comments and apply them to national or international issues, seems to me to not be helpful.

I am particularly disgusted with the comments directed towards the president. "Bush is a Moron" may provide a cheap laugh to some, but what is the purpose of making such a comment. Can we disagree with someone without calling them a moron? I mean, that worked on the elementary school playground. Well, perhaps the blogosphere is inhabited by prepubescent adults.

I admit my knowledge of the blogosphere is limited. I began my own blog at the encouragement of Hugh Hewitt, who was kind enough to email me back several times in response to my questions. (I still wish Hugh would get a spell-checker and gammar checker for his blog posts.) I still check his blog daily, though I must say that some of the name calling is beneath him. (What exactly, are moonbats?) Still, I find information and links and argued points of view, which challenge my thinking.

I subscribe to a web site called Presbyweb that follows the trials and triumphs of my own denomination.

I check Mark D. Roberts every day.

I also check the Powerline folks every day. They are from Minnesota, as I am. I like following Minnesota politics, especially from afar. And I find many of their comments insightful. I sometimes do not agree, but I like seeing them interact with people with whom they disagree. They almost always provide links, so that the comments they make can be seen in context.

Now, there is no one blog that can cover everything. So I also dive into other blogs on a regular basis. I regularly look at Talking Points Memo, Andrew Sullivan.

I have some friends with blogs, which I check often, like this one.

When I have a strong stomach, I will check in on Kos or Atrios. Though it is painful to read the comments like these.

But I digress. I suppose that blogs are nice places to rant. However, these rants are also open to the public. Not many people read this blog, so I am mostly writing for myself, and a few supportive friends.

Still, this verse from Philippians keeps going around in my head.

(Philippians 4:8 NIV) Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Disagree? Certainly. Let's just do it with civility, and without the hyperbolic personal attack.

Are there any blogs that you have found that educate, entertain, or edify you? Let me know, if you would. I may add them to my blogroll.

Biblical Headlines

Judge to decide whether to halt Ark. project to protect bird

Since I am currently teaching a Sunday School class at church on Genesis 1-11, this caught my eye. (H/T Best of the Web)