Bullshit jobs

Commonweal has a review of David Graeber's book, "Bullshit Jobs" that is worth a read (but approach it with caution if, like me, you are dealing with a convergence of early old-age events--the deaths of your parents, the flight of your children, chronic illness, and retirement--and are inclined to pessimistic thoughts about the Meaning of Life).

“[A] bullshit job,” according to Graeber’s working definition, “is a form of paid employment that is so completely pointless, unnecessary, or pernicious that even the employee cannot justify its existence even though, as part of the conditions of employment, the employee feels obliged to pretend that this is not the case.” Crucially, this does not cover situations in which the person doing the job believes it serves a purpose, but others do not. 

How Do You Do It?

My 18 year old son recently asked me how I travel. He was recounting a trip he took to Paris (with someone else) about two years ago. His guide had tried to jam in as many important cultural stops into the day as possible, getting up at dawn and grinding him down by foot until late at night. The climax was one night at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, where he had rebelled and refused to move another inch. He was scolded and lectured (tearfully at that) that he simply must go to the top of the metal tower or it would be a very bad thing. He stood his ground, but two years later he still felt guilty about it.

I told him that I like to go to places that have some sort of culture to them, but that I travel loosely. I might have two can't miss places on any trip no matter where (Istanbul: The Hagia Sofia and St Savior in Chora; Paris: Two art museums chosen by whatever is fascinating to me at the time; Kyoto: The Mimitzuka (a monument built around the severed ears of 20,000 Korean soldiers, taken as trophies in a war in the late 16th century) and a grubby, but very intimate little restaurant run by a man from an old samurai family who makes metal fittings for temples and who loves to fish (I don't fish, but for some reason I love to talk about fishing in Japanese). It's not that I don't want to see anything else or won't see anything else. But I like to take my time, because invariably the most memorable stuff when traveling takes place outside of the plan.

My son could relate, but he thought I was holding something back. I tried to argue that one's time should be very loose so that one can really see things. But thinking about it I realized that he was right.

Bishop lands on naughty list

The Catholic church's clergy woes opened a new chapter this week when a bishop in downstate Illinois was accused of complicating parents' lives and endangering toy sales by allegedly informing fifth and sixth graders that Santa Claus doesn't exist.

Fall back farther - Update

Update 11/2/2018 4:20 pm CDT: in writing below about the time of day of the fatal accident in Indiana, I had incorrectly assumed that all of the state is on Central Time.  Not true; clusters of counties in the northwest and southwest corners of the state are on Central Time, while the rest of the state, including Fulton County where the accident occurred, is on Eastern Time.  Many thanks to Tom Blackburn for pointing this out.  I've corrected the post below.

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You probably know that early Sunday morning, we in the US (except Arizona and Hawaii) need to set our clocks back by an hour, and thereby revert from daylight saving time to standard time.

I've been an early riser since I left college, so I've generally liked this weekend and loathed its evil twin in the spring.  After a few years, as a young adult, of investing emotionally in the topic and boring my family and friends with my twice-annual alternating hosannas and laments about falling back and springing ahead respectively, I've come to understand that time changes are temporary nuisances that disrupt my body cycle for 2-3 days at the most, after which life marches on.

But.

Come, Come, Ye Saints

This hymn, which seems appropriate for All Saints' Day, is one I remember from mixed chorus in high school.  You won't find it in the missalette; it is a Mormon hymn. Maybe the Mormon signature hymn. (More about signature hymns later).  Anyway, the reason I chose it instead of the more standard hymns to do with saints, is the somber and sad things which have happened lately.  This is a hymn about persevering in the face of adversity and struggle, about saints in progress rather than saints triumphant.  It seemed appropriate for the times when we aren't quite ready for the Glorious Mysteries.  It's also a nod to my pioneer ancestors and the struggles they faced.

Knocking down the guardrails

Election season has reached fever pitch, so it is not surprising to hear opponents of Donald Trump attempting to make instant connections between the president and the twin acts of domestic terrorism from the last couple of weeks: the (thankfully) inept mail bombs from Cesar Sayoc to prominent liberals; and the monumental tragedy of the synagogue assassinations in Pittsburgh by Robert Bowers. 

Frankly, I'd thought a lot of the connection-making rhetoric was altogether too facile.  I'm not aware that Trump had said or done anything particularly anti-Semitic during his presidency, nor to encourage attacks against prominent Democratic leaders.  Furthermore, his reactions to both sets of events have been, more or less, what one would expect of a conventional president.  So I'd been chalking up the connection-making to politics and the continuing efforts by the so-called Resistance to discredit Trump's presidency.

Then I read Bret Stephens' column in the New York Times this morning.

#ShowUpforShabbat

Solidarity Shabbat: We Stand with Pittsburgh

The Jewish community is inviting ALL to #ShowUpForShabbat on Friday evening or Saturday morning. I plan to go attend the Shabbat service at one of our local synagogues tomorrow evening. I first checked their website to be sure that this particular congregation was supporting #ShowUpForShabbat and welcoming non-Jews during their time of mourning.

From the WaPo Acts of Faith email newsletter today (p.s. the editor is Jewish)

  

Dear Acts of Faith readers,

I know all of you are well aware of the tragic religion news this week — the murder of 11 worshipers at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the deadliest attack on American Jews in history.

As we learn more about the victims and the alleged perpetrator and watched how a grieving city handled a tumultuous presidential visit, I have been struck by the support offered to the Jewish community by other people of faith.

Clergy of all faiths helped organize vigils across the nation, and spoke out about the need to respond not only with empathy but with policies to reduce mass shootings and with renewed efforts to root out anti-Semitism in public discourse. Here in Washington, dozens of clergy crowded to the front of Adas Israel synagogue on Monday night, where the city’s mayor and the governors of Virginia and Maryland pledged their determination to eradicate anti-Semitism in our region. Across the country, Muslim Americans contributed more than $150,000 for the shooting victims: “This could have very well been at a mosque or a Hindu temple,” the organizer of the fundraising campaign told The Post’s Allison Klein.

Jewish groups are urging Jews and non-Jews alike to #ShowUpforShabbat by attending Friday or Saturday services this weekend in a show of solidarity, and Muslim, Sikh and Christian congregations are inviting their members to attend services at a synagogue. “After Oak Creek, the Jewish community resoundingly stood by Sikh Americans, and this time we encourage our whole community to stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters,” Sikh activists wrote in an email to Sikhs across the country.