A Monday morning barrage of links and thoughts

Yes, I'm aware that I did no blogging over the weekend.  My excuses are legitimate: a magazine deadline on Friday, an out-of-town music gig on Saturday, a couple of social activities that, I'm not ashamed to admit, were fun, sundry other matters to attend to.

And now, on Monday morning, there is a cornucopia of fodder for posts.  I may examine some of them in post-length form, but a quick roundup gives an indication of the breadth of what's happening out there:

• It looks like the Senate has the votes to pass another one of those pass-it-then-read-it FHer monstrosities that purports to address an ostensible pressing problem in our society - in this case, comprehensive immigration reform.  Any Pub Senator who votes for it is in the throes of advanced-stage Reasonable Gentleman Syndrome and is no longer to be taken seriously as a defender of freedom or America.
• Snowden is apparently on his way to Ecuador from Russia.  His coziness with the Chinese as well as associates of Julian Assange make it pretty clear he's nobody's hero.
• The Supreme Court is hearing supremely important cases this week: the role of affirmative action in college admissions and whether there is such a thing as homosexual "marriage."  As of this writing, the affirmative action case decision has come down, and it kicks it back to the lower courts.
• The DIJA, the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ are all quite woozy this morning.  Seems to be global and to have started with a 5 percent drop in the Shanghai Index amid concerns over China's credit situation.
• Just because unrest in Turkey and Syria (and to include a non-Muslim example, Brazil) have been getting the attention, it doesn't mean that Egypt has calmed down.

I'd also like to pass along some pieces I came across this morning at Real Clear Politics.

 One is rather long, so plan ahead to take the time to include it in your reading for the day or week.  It's "The Higher Education Hustle" by William Voegeli, a senior editor at the Claremont Review of Books.  Much of the  first several paragraphs is devoted to an overview of how modern academia became a repository for demographic balkanization, speech and thought control, dismissal of the great canon of works that define Western civilization, and general moral relativity.  It's not rehash of what you already know, however; it's the details behind what you already know.  For instance, I learned that the big push for "diversity" has its roots in a 1985 statement by the American Association of Colleges that points the compass:  "Colleges must create a curriculum in which the insights and understandings, the lives and aspirations of the distant and foreign, the different and the neglected, are more widely comprehended by their graduates."

Voegeli makes it clear how that declaration of mission has played out:

The acquisition of such comprehension became the justification for immersing students in the study of abuses committed throughout history by those—principally white, heterosexual males—who felt at liberty to disdain the insights and understanding, and trample the lives and aspirations, of the different and neglected. This commitment to a secular salvation has recently expanded to include "sustainability." Colleges now work to make sure that, whatever else its students do or don't learn, they graduate with a profound awareness of, revulsion for, and dedication to reversing the appalling violations committed against a fragile planet.

He concludes his essay by asserting forthrightly that higher education as we've known it for the last few centuries is a model in need of replacement.

The other piece is by Robert Samuelson and is entitled "Cheap Money Can't Buy a Strong Economy."  He enumerates three main factors preventing a robust recovery.  One is "the legacy of the financial crisis and Great Recession. Their suddenness and magnitude sobered and frightened people in ways that sapped vitality and optimism. Households, companies, bankers, government regulators - just about everyone - became more cautious and, in economics jargon, "risk averse." Consumers skimped on spending; companies limited hiring and investment. Debts that seemed bearable quickly became burdensome. Firms and families "deleveraged."  Another is the faltering of technological advancement, and the third is demographics - that is, the aging of the Boomers.

Finally, though, I must be candid about another reason why blogging slowed way down over the last few days.  The truth is that I haven't been doing so hot attitudinally - indeed, spiritually.  It got to the point that I was not able to consistently see the point to this thing called my life.  I was staying on top of basic daily obligations, but I was going through the motions to do so.

I can honestly say that I'm coming out of it now, and one big reason is that I've allowed myself to follow a trail of clues that have been left for me in recent days.

I've started including, fairly consistently, the reading of Jon Acuff's blog, in my morning perusal of online content.  He's one of those get-clear-on-your-life-mission-and-then-roll-up-your-sleeves guys, and he's quite good.  (For instance, read today's post, "The Best Thing to DoWhen You Fail.")  It seems to me there are two types of folks in that bag: the fluff-o, New-Agey types that invoke pretend forces and drive you nuts exhorting you to see reality as something other than what it is, and the ones who offer solid advice, inspiration and encouragement, based on their own trials by fire.  Acuff is in category two.

The other day, I was reading a comment thread under one of his posts, and I came across a comment by one Gary Morland.  Now, that's not the most common of names, so I immediately wondered if it could be the Gary Moreland who used to live in this city and with whom I spent countless hours half-heartedly working on concepts for radio shows or trying to write songs.  And mostly drinking beer.  After years of working at ding-dong jobs he had no passion for, he did get a toehold in the radio industry.  He got a job, first in Iowa, and moved his family there, and then to South Carolina.  I lost touch with him around the late 1980s.

But going to the website URL this Gary Morland had underneath his name at that comment thread not only confirmed that it was my old buddy, but that he's now in the business of life-mission inspiration himself.  Check out his site - his bio, his e-books, and his blog.  He's turned out to be a great writer, among other things.  He's also become a serious Christian, which informs what he has to say to a large extent, although what he has to say is so generally insightful it would help even agnostics who were in a place where they were asking the questions he addresses.

His work led me, via a link, to that of yet another guy in that field: Seth Godin.   Great stuff. Check out his recent post entitled, "The Lab or the Factory."

Speaking of Christianity, a Facebook post by a buddy of mine that I saw this morning really spoke to me:

Anyone have suggestions for good bible companion readers? I have to admit that I'm having a tough go of it. I hear the sermons and the messages our pastors and elders derive from the scriptures and I think they are beautiful and inspiring beyond words.... But when I read them on my own I usually get nothing. I want to be able to dive deeper in the text but, most of the time, I can't seem to. Any help would be a blessing.

Someone in his comment thread suggested that he check out the biblical commentary of Tom Wright.  Don't know about my FB buddy, but I checked him out, and I will be checking him out more.

So I'm back among the living.  A little skinned up, as is usually the case after one of my dark nights, but ready to see possibility again.

If there's anything that ties together this entire post, it's that we're free.  You can look at the fact that each moment of your life presents you with a choice as exhiliarating and delicious, or as a burden.  But your destiny is largely in your own hands.  Maybe even completely.  The occasional tornado, earthquake or armed robbery may intrude on your daily existence, but there's always your response, and that's yours and yours alone.

Now, let's all get out there and treasure our freedom.