Burying the lede

Yesterday Denver experienced a tragic shooting in a grocery warehouse. It has been reported as a random act of violence.

It turns out that the shooter (who was himself killed by police) was a Moslem who had recently returned to work after a three month leave of absence. (See, way down the page.)

Act of war?

If so, it was smaller than others in Denver yesterday.

Weird.

A cantankerous and outspoken figure casts aspersions on another such figure. Happens every day, right? Well, in this case the speaker used a euphemistic term for a particularly heinous crime. Rather than, as would normally be appropriate under the circumstances, suing for libel, the defamed party criticizes the use of the term in question. The speaker apologizes to the criminal community and goes on to refer to the other as fecal matter. Details here.

Potpourri

Today’s Bleat is unusually good. It touches on our culture’s particular gift.

In a similar vein, my hometown is adding this origami-inspired building,:






quite near this one:



Adolescent rebellion and pomposity writ large. I'm reminded of the anecdote that the wise old architect envies the surgeon who buries his mistakes.

Similarly we read that the The Episcopal Church – until recently known as The Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America – has pretty much renounced any commitments to ecumenism or to recognizable vestiges of Christianity. Details available here.

Many would say that the current laxity on moral questions is an equal and opposite reaction to some previous era of excessive rigor.

Why do we not consider the option (one more in keeping with my own experience) that, being frustrated and discouraged by repeated moral failure, we simply keep lowering standards until the standards are low enough to be easily attained?

In the strangest places . . .

Found a great quote the other day from a very odd source.

"Tolerance is the result not of enlightenment, but of boredom."

This speaks to the constantly accelerating collapse of moral standards since World War I. What makes this so ironic as that the source of the quote is usually an apologist for all manner of collapsed morals: Quentin Crisp.

Found another one today, on my way back from a meeting at a Catholic hospital:

"Be Respectful. Is what you say kind, true and necessary?"

This was a gigantic sign over a portal from an area that's mainly used by hospital staff into a public space. A good reminder.