What's Tony Thinking

Weekend, April 27 – 28

Tomorrow is our last Sunday at Community Church of San Miguel. It’s been a good run. And it will be good to get home to the Northwest, to family and friends there.

We were in Mexico City this week. I’m not sure I’ve ever been in a larger city. Population: 20 million+. How does such a city work? Got me. We most enjoyed the Museum of Anthropology and the Palace of Fine Arts. At the latter we saw, the Ballet Folklorico, a celebration of Mexican culture, from indigenous to present.

Mexico is a complex, multi-layered culture, dating back to at least 3000 B.C.E. As far as I can tell, Mexico and Mexicans seem to incorporate and celebrate all of their history and various cultures. A contrast to the U.S. where we have, by and large, acted as if there was nothing before the 17th century and the arrival of Europeans.

A professor I can agree with: Here’s the reality at Pomona College (c/o of The Free Press) . . .

John Arnold a professor at Pomona College provided the following stats:

Since 1990, Pomona College
# of students: +17%
# of tenured faculty: -3%
# of administrators: +454%

In a recent WaPo opinion piece, Pomona economics professor Gary Smith proposes a solution to this: the school should get rid of its students and professors. This would leave administrators to “do what administrators do—hold meetings, codify rules, debate policy, give and attend workshops, and organize social events—without having to deal with whiny students and grumpy professors.”

Why, you may ask, has college administration metastisized at such a rate? I suspect it has a lot to do with Title IX requirements regarding sexual harassment and discrimination as well as DEI programs and enforcement. Also related to identity politics as our many and various identities require legal protection and lots of administrative support — or so it seems. Is there a better way?

Here’s a wonderful sermon. From Paul Zahl, the godfather of Mockingbird Ministries and the author of Grace in Everyday Life. The sermon is based on I  John 3: 20, “If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts.” Some things seem impossible to get over, to overcome, to release — and so our hearts condemn us. “But God is greater than our hearts.” Listen, please!

Perfectionism, said Anne Lamont, is the enemy of the people. This is a recent article on how to get out of the trap of perfectionism. While we were taught that “if a thing is worth doing, its worth doing well,” and “there’s a right way and a wrong way,” this article also says — and I believe — that there are times when “good enough” is good enough.

Enjoy your weekend!