In Memoriam

Today we commemorate the thousands who fell under the sword and bullets of the Spanish Civil War. The Republican extremists slaughtered 13 bishops, over 6000 priests, and 4000 more religious, with the number of lay faithful as yet unnumbered. So many see this conflict in terms of political absolutes, fascism vs. democracy, that the element of religious persecution remains entirely neglected. Catholics should understand, as so few do, that this was the most intense, most ferocious persecution since the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Enemies of the Church, driven by a nearly indisputable demonic rage, razed hundreds of churches to the ground, mutilated statues, and subjected those they did not kill to unspeakable atrocities. While Franco's Nationalist army did not stay free from crimes and murders, their deeds strayed out of bounds in typical wartime actions. It should not be forgotten that it was the Republican tolerance of violence against the church and her faithful that precipitated the military uprising in the first place. Those who suffered martyrdom in that contest have not received due attention, partly due to the unwillingness of most media to accept that these events did indeed transpire. Even C. S. Lewis expressed doubt that the stories coming over the water about the intense persecution were true (this rankled Tolkien). Much of the crimes perpetrated by the Republican government and army remain shadowed in obscurity because it was (and is) so popular to be on the side of the elected government. It is a pity these same people do not recall that Hilter was also elected. May the beatified martyrs of the Spanish Civil War pray for us and this troubled world, that injustice everywhere may be fought, despite inconvenience or discomfort.

Hiroshima

A collection of rare photos of the destruction of Hiroshima can be found on Design Observer, along with the story of their discovery. The images are haunting in a way similar to the emotions evoked by images of dead Chernobyl, but more intense because of the deliberate will behind them, and the sheer scale of the human slaughter under the blasted landscape. A visceral reminder of the consequences of total war, and the brutality possible when war is unhinged from Christian principles.

sometimes I can take good pictures

Home, around 6:15 AM.

Cetaceous Conflicts

Having recently completed the arduous task of reading Herman Melville's alleged masterpiece Moby Dick, I feel compelled to offer a few thoughts on it. Despite Melville's overwrought turn of phrase and fascination with beating an already tired metaphor into the ground, the book succeeded in revealing the dangerous and almost mystical world of whaling to an ignorant audience (namely, me). The idea of a handful of men in a tiny boat paddling furiously after a creature of such terrifyingly large proportions staggers belief (at least in my case). It seems to me to be an endeavor worthy of comparison to the scaling of Earth's most treacherous mountains. In both cases Man seeks to overcome a daunting force of nature, and I could not believe how paltry the equipment was on those whaling boats! A harpoon, some spears, and quite a quantity of rope, and off they went, risking life and limb to hunt a monstrously large animal in a lethal environs. Incredibly, they succeeded often enough to make it a profitable industry I know it is the custom these days to side with the whales and certainly if there is real danger of their extinction, I concede the case. But I have acquired a whole hearted admiration for the men who undertook such a perilous enterprise. And I hope the Makah will soon be able again to take to the open sea in a little canoe to spear the leviathan, as they did a few years ago. In a world of modern convenience and comfort I feel somehow relieved that there are still men who have the pluck and the nerve to dart over the waters after a creature as big as a house, armed only with small pointed sticks and their courage.

We have followed this series for too long to let the new one go by without recognition. Therefore, just a reminder that tomorrow at 12:00: HP6. haven't they come a long way?

Strong Feelings Change Nothing

That was the headline in a recent copy of the Reflector; I found it painfully applicable to a situation detailed in a different article. That article, titled instead "State invites comments on SR-502 project" explained just exactly what will happen when WSDOT turns 219th St into a four lane highway, changing the lives of everyone in the area. Let me quote the article itself, as it displayed unusual genius for listing each catastrophic effect in a numbingly banal fashion. "Create 28 acres of new impervious surfaces"--Well that's an incredible way to put it. A full 28 acres of asphalt poured between us and the ground. Hopkins wrote "nor can Man's foot feel, being shod". I think this lends new meaning to his poem...oh, the world is still charged with the grandeur of God, but in an age of progress and efficiency, society will try to keep God's handiwork to an absolute minimum while vaunting Man's creations to the utmost. How anyone can really view "impervious surfaces" as an improvement on grass remains mysterious to me. But then I was always the one asking why today's society values money over land. True value seems beyond anyone's ability to grasp these days. "Convert 54-60 acres of grassland, forest, and agricultural land to roadway"--Tell me I am not the only human being left on this earth whose heart does not cry out in agony at that chilling statement. I cannot further expound on it: it is devastation. "Displace 16-22 businesses and 20-30 homes"--Here we come to something I cannot regard as other than evil. I understand that Eminent Domain is within the government's prerogative, and that building roads is considered necessary for the common good. (Thank goodness there are still some who question the governement's power to arbitrariliy throw up strip malls where it chooses.) But something in me rebells at the thought of any man coming onto my property and telling me I must sell or the government will condemn my land and do with it whatsoever it pleases. It is vile to set a price on the roots we send into our land, to so calculatingly evaluate the deep and natural love we have for home. Vile and loathsome to tell a homeowner that his protests amount to nothing and that if he does not sell he will be forceably evicted. (Oh yes, with compensation. How kind.) "Adversely affect three historically significant properties"--At this point, that's just icing on the cake. Tomorrow is our independence day. I wonder how independent we can truly say we are when we, American citizens, cannot own property. We rent it from the government through property taxes and live there at the government's pleasure. If the day comes when the government decides it needs what we jestingly say we "own", it's a wry smile, wad of cash to the hand, and swift kick in the back. Do I have strong feelings about this? Strong feelings about the fate of those who live in places WSDOT has decreed should be highway instead? About the government's legal right and indisputable propensity to ruin lives? Yes I do. But as the headline so aptly stated, it changes nothing.

guess whose feast day it is!